


High school with the Pines Twins

by Mother_Mortician



Series: Parallel Love AU [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Abusive Filbrick Pines, Becoming bestfriends with your boyfrined, Bullies, F/M, Ford is an awkward boy and I love him so much, Ford's first girlfriend, Glass Shard Beach (Gravity Falls), Glass Shard Beach High School, I don't know what I'm doing honestly, I'm not even sure Stanford is ready for something like that at the moment, In New Jersey the age of legal consent is 16, Legal consent, New Jersey, Poindexter - Freeform, Protective Stan Pines, Reader is also a bit of a nerd, SHOULD I PUT THAT THEY ARE UNDERAGE?, Sixer, Stan Pines Needs A Hug, THIS IS BASED IN 1962 (primarily), Teenage Ford Pines, Teenage Stan Pines, The Stans were born June 15 1945, They are 17, Underage Drinking, becoming bestfriends with your boyfriends twin bother, early 60s, highschool, housemate, nerdy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:01:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 41,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24804328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mother_Mortician/pseuds/Mother_Mortician
Summary: (Stanford Pines route) It's high school. Early Senior year. New Jersey.A girl sees Ford getting beaten up by bullies and she tries to stop it.Leading to more problems.Only bright side is: She becomes friends with the Pines Twins.
Relationships: Ford Pines/Reader, Stanford Pines/ Reader
Series: Parallel Love AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1896073
Comments: 116
Kudos: 135





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Got bored 
> 
> Bad words and violence, and maybe other stuff later on.
> 
> rated R,  
> for adult subjects, bad language, sexual situations, and violence.  
> (if you are a child, don't read this. Please)

It's not like you were the popular person, someone in the middle. your parents were rich, so it’s not like you cared what the “popular kids” thought. You didn’t have a huge house, but that’s how they got the money to last longer. 

You had gone to the bathroom towards the end of class, thankfully it was the last class of the day, and should be only ten minutes left of the school day. On the way back to the classroom you see these tough guys beating up a skinny kid, he looked familiar but you weren’t sure. Whoever he was, he was covered in blood. 

“Hey! What the hell are you doing? Stop it!” You shout at the jocks. They all stop for a second and look at you. Anger in their eyes. Hunger in other’s. Being a girl, wearing a dress, many guys had made comments about how easy it would be to take you. 

“Mind your own fucking business” and went back to beating the boy up. 

You run up to the biggest one and start pounding on his back,  
“Stop it!” as a result he hits you right across the face. The boy who was being beaten up looked horrified. You fall, your back slamming on the floor. 

“Why do you care? He’s a freak!” 

“No he’s not! Leave him alone, you're gonna kill him, stop!” you say as you get up. The guy who had just hit you, picks you up, while the other guy who was beating up the kid, picks him up as well. They throw both of you in the janitor’s closet and lock the door. 

It’s pitch black. The kid they threw in there with you was breathing heavily. You get up and manage to turn the light on. 

The kid’s eye is swollen, his lip busted, and maybe something was broken. He was cradling his arm, trying not to move it. You watch as he slowly reaches up to touch the back of his head, it’s bleeding. 

“Oh…” he says as he starts to look faint. You quickly take off your cardigan, bundle it up, lift his head just a little bit, and applies pressure to the wound. Getting blood on her hands in the process. 

“Please stay awake…” You say as you snap your fingers repeatedly. His eyes widen, and he tries focusing his vision on you, he squinted at you. You notice marks on his face that would indicate he did wear glasses, but they were broken on his face during a punch.  
“What’s your name?” You ask, trying to get him to stay awake. 

“Stanford….Pines...” he whispers out. 

“Do you normally wear glasses…?” You ask, hoping you were correct in the guess. 

“Yeah…. they uh… broke them” he says seemingly trying to look at his surroundings.  
“You know… you should have just let them hurt me… you wouldn’t be hurt if you didn’t…” he says quietly. 

“What do you mean? Your condition is really bad, Stanford. You’re covered in blood, I couldn’t just let them do that to you, it isn’t right.”

“But they were right, I am a freak” he whispered. 

“No you’re not, you’re fine the way you are, they are the ones that are freaks for beating someone up this badly…” You say as you hold pressure on the wound. 

“But look…” he says, lifting his bloody hand for you to see, six fingers. 

“That doesn’t make you a freak, you’re perfect the way you are, sure it’s different than the norm, but that doesn’t make you a freak, or deserving of assault.” You say. Now that you are this close to his face, he really does look familiar. 

“Oh…” he mumbles. Like, he honestly didn’t expect you to give that answer. 

“Is there anyone who would notice you were missing that would look for you after school ends?” You ask, using your free hand to pull the canister of water from your bag. Handing it over to him, and he takes a big gulp. Blood left on the bottle as he hands it back. You makes a note to wash it when you get home. 

“Yeah...my brother Stanley...if he doesn’t see me at our meet up spot at a specific time, he starts looking for me…” 

“Does this happen a lot...getting beaten up and thrown in closets…?” You ask, your face feels like it’s throbbing. 

“Often but...they’ve never hurt me this bad before…” he says, looking defeated. 

The bell rings. 

There is chatter, going past the door, but Stanford suggested that you both should just wait for his brother, since those guys aren’t the only ones who like to beat him up. 

The hallways got quiet. Then suddenly there is yelling echoing through the halls. 

“Stanford! ….

Sixer!

Where are you?” 

You hoped you were slowing down the blood loss, but Stanford said he felt like the room was spinning. His eyes widen with hope when he hears the voice. You take that as a hint that that is his brother. You scoop him up and placed him on your lap, using your leg to keep pressure on the wound, and both of your hands to cover his ears. You were about to yell. 

“STANLEY! HELP” You scream as loud as you can. The shouting voice in the halls stopped, like it was trying to listen. 

“HELP! STANLEY!” 

You hear a squeak of shoes as it sounds like he is running in your direction. 

The knob for the door starts fidgeting. Then pauses. Then some small metal sounds, like he was picking the lock, and then finally, the door was opened. 

The door swung open, to someone who looked identical to Stanford, just beefier. 

He looks down at the bleeding mess that was Stanford. Horror in his eyes. He got down on one knee to try picking up his brother, but you stopped him 

“His head is bleeding a lot, I need to keep constant pressure.” you say, he looks at you and nods. He slowly maneuvers his way to pick you both up at the same time, but you stand on your feet, on Stanford’s head side, while Stanley picks him up. He looked extremely worried, and angry. 

All three of you walked towards a car parked in the lot. While fidgeting to get his keys out, Stanley finally talks to you  
“Do you need to be home soon?”

“No real need, besides homework, why?” You ask, looking back at Stanford. Your parents were gone for work, and wouldn’t be back in a few months… or year. They weren’t sure. They wrote out notes, and stamps with their signature in case you needed it. They trusted you, you had perfect grades in all advanced classes, and took college courses on the side. 

Oh! That's where you recognized Stanford. Chemistry class. Not like you talked to each other or anything. 

“Well I was going to ask if you could keep pressure on his head, while I drive him to the hospital” 

“I can do that,” You crawl into the car, while Stanley slowly hands you Stanford. He looks and sees blood on his arms from just holding him for just a few minutes. 

“Hey sixer, please tell me you’re awake” 

“Yeah...just tired” 

“Stay awake, please” You say quietly, while Stanley runs around the car jumping in and slamming the door. 

“I’m awake…” 

Stanley sped down the streets, like a crazy person, but he made good time. You all were at the hospital before they realized it. 

The three of you stormed into the emergency room entrance, and Stanford was immediately taken from you and Stanley. They ask for a small description of what happened. 

“He was beat up by a bunch of guys, he may have a broken arm, and he was thrown and his head’s been bleeding for about twenty five minutes.” 

They then run off, taking the cardigan you placed on his head with him as they rolled him away. 

Then it was just you and Stanley, and you both made your way to the waiting room chairs. 

He sat quietly for a bit before asking you

“Do you know who did it…?” he asked quietly. 

“I don’t know their names, but I know their faces…” 

“Are you okay?” he asks as his hand gently points to the bruise blossoming across your face. 

“It’ll be sore, but I’ll be fine” you say then look down.  
“I tried stopping them...that's why they did this…” you say pointing to the bruise. “They would have continued to hit him…I tried stopping them….” 

“You did stop them,” he says with a gentle smile. “They probably would have beaten him to death if they had the chance…” his expression full of pain and rage. 

“Let’s just hope he’ll be fine…” you add, hoping he’ll calm down, his expression did, but you knew he was still infuriated. 

There was a pause, twenty minutes had passed and no news. 

“So are you like his girlfriend or something?” Stanley randomly asks. 

“No? I just met him today…” you responded honestly. 

“So you helped a complete stranger?” he said, his expression shocked. 

“Yeah? I mean I think I have a class with him, but it’s not like we ever talked” 

“Oh… I see.” Stanley thought you were very cute. However, he knew Stanford wasn’t great at getting girls to pay attention to him, he’ll give Ford a chance first. 

No time to think of that now. 

“So what’s your name?” he asks gently. 

You tell him your name. 

“oh?” 

“Yeah,” you say with a shrug. 

A whole hour passes before the doctor comes out

“You’re Stanley Pines?” The doctor asks

“I am” 

“So your brother is fine. He has stitches that need to come out in a few weeks on his head, a broken arm, and multiple bruised ribs. He should heal without complications, he will just need time to recover. He’s in room 210. He will be discharged later this evening.” 

“Thank you doctor…” Stanley says before the doctor turns around. After the doctor is gone he clenches his fists. 

“Those ASSHOLES” 

You looked up at him, he looked pissed. 

“What’s their fucking problem? He’s got six fingers, so what? God, if I ever find out who they are, I’m going to make them wish they never even looked his direction”  
He’s glaring at the floor for a few more seconds before looking up at you, letting his face soften.  
“Sorry… it just...pisses me off…” 

“I understand…” you say, looking up at him gently, trying to comfort him. Doubting it’s helping.

“So uh” he clears his throat, but his voice still sounds raspy “you want to go in there with me?” 

“I don’t want to intrude…” 

“Please…?” he asks quietly. 

“Yeah, lead the way” 

You both head to the room, both stay quiet in anticipation. You see him pull something out of his pocket, a pair of glasses. 

When you enter the room, Stanford’s lying there with his eyes closed, his head and chest bandaged up, and his arm is in a cast. His eye is swollen, and he had a small bandage on his lip and nose. All the blood cleaned off of him. 

“Sixer, are you awake?”

“Yeah..just keeping my eyes closed...I don’t have my glasses so my head started hurting from looking around” 

“Lucky for you, I got what you need” Stanley says as he hands him his glasses, Stanford takes them and places them on his face and starts opening his eyes. One of his eyes hardly opened from how swollen it was. He smiled up at his brother, but when he noticed you were there. He was shocked. 

“You’re here…?” 

“y-yeah...I held your head and kept pressure on your wound while he drove you here….” 

“Oh…” 

You inform him what your namw was, given that you hadn't told him before.

“Oh...I think we have chemistry together” 

You notice from your peripheral vision that Stanley’s face turned into a grin that he quickly covered before you turned your head all the way. Stanford also seemed to notice because you saw him looking at his brother, with a little bit of frustration in his eye. He couldn’t really express complex emotions on his face at the moment. 

“How are you feeling?” Stanley asked, trying to pretend he didn’t just grin at something that was said. 

“In pain…” He answers quietly. 

“Yeah I bet… so you want to tell me who did this..?”

Stanford looked away. He remained silent. 

“C’mon Ford, you gotta tell me...this is far worse than what has happened before” Stanley pleaded.  
“At this point they should just go to prison” 

“They’re the same guys from last time...after you went after them...they took it out on me… I told you this would happen…” 

“Oh…” Stanley was quiet. 

You felt like you should leave, this is their family business… but you had to agree 

“They could go to prison for this...they’d also end up paying your medical bill too.. That is..If you decide to press charges” You say with a gentle smile, hoping you weren’t overstepping.

“Yeah..I guess you guys are right..” Stanford said, sounding defeated. 

The police soon arrived after that and took his statement. You gave a small statement too, since they had hit you, and you were a witness.

Another hour passed before the doctor came into the room. 

“Alright, you should be fine to go home...have any legal guardians with you?” 

Stanley and Stanford both looked at eachother, slightly panicked. 

“I’ll call them..” Stanley said, before leaving the room to make a phone call.  
Once he came back, he looked like he just saw a dead body. Dead in his eyes.  
“They’ll be here in twenty minutes… they suggest I leave…” 

Stanford looked up at his brother, sadness in his eyes. 

“Do you want a ride home…?” Stanley asks you. 

You look over at Stanford then back at Stanley  
“Yeah..okay” 

It’s a quiet walk back to the car. 

Once you sit in the passenger seat, and he is in the driver's seat, he just places his hands on the wheel, and lets his head hang down. 

You're not really sure what to do. 

“Are you okay…?” 

He lifts his head up, his eyes looked glossy like he was going to cry. 

“Sure. Yeah, of course” 

You give him a look of concern.  
“I don’t believe you” 

He looks out the windshield and starts  
“The old man is blaming me… he said he doesn’t want to see me at the house for a week… No matter what I said.. he just said I should have been there or-or-or not beat the guys up the first time they hurt Stanford. It’s just..not right…I told him I was sorry...but he doesn’t care…” 

You look down, look out the windshield for a second, then back at Stanley.  
“I know we just met...but you can stay at my house if you want?” 

He looks over at you, confused  
“Wouldn’t your parents rather I don’t..?” 

“They aren’t home, they won’t be home for a while, it’s just me” 

“Oh?” 

“But this isn’t like..me coming on to you…just sounds like you’d end up sleeping in your car..and that’s not right” 

“Oh..okay… well, tell me where to go” 

You directed him to your house, it was pretty far from the hospital, so you were glad to get a ride. It was a three bedroom house: one master bedroom, and two smaller ones. While your parents were gone, you stayed in the master bedroom, they had a nice desk in there that you used to get work done. 

You gets out of the car, and grab your backpack from the back seat, while Stanley opens the trunk and grabs his. 

When you both entered the house, he let out a small gasp. 

“What’s wrong?” you ask

“It’s just...Stanford and I live above our family’s pawn shop. It’s pretty small...Ford and I always shared a room...this house is big” 

“Oh… well uh..You can stay in one of the rooms if you want, but you might need to go pick up clothes...though...my dad might have some clothes you could borrow for tomorrow, then maybe after school tomorrow we could grab some clothes..? Unless you don’t want to go on the weekend..?” 

He looks down at the ground  
“Maybe I’ll just ask if Stanford can throw some of my clothes out of the window…” 

“Oh...alright...well...it’s getting late, you can rest in the room while I make dinner?” you suggested.

“Yeah..thanks” 

You lead him to the empty bedroom, and he just slowly walks in and flops himself on the bed. 

After you were done cooking dinner, you head back to get him. The door is closed now. As you were about to knock, you heard something on the other side. 

He was crying. Muffling sobs in the bed. 

You just decide to enter. 

“Stanley…?” You ask as you sit next to him on the bed. He quickly shoots up and wipes his eyes, badly pretending he’s perfectly fine. 

He clears his throat a few times before talking  
“Y-yeah?” 

You didn’t really think of what to say. You had only planned to tell him dinner was ready.

“Uh...dinner is..ready” 

“Oh uh..thank you” 

It was pretty quiet as you both ate, there was some small talk, but neither of you talked about the attack on Stanford or Stanley getting kicked out of the house for the next few days. 

After dinner, he went back to the room, and you finished washing all the dishes. Once everything was washed and put away, you decided you should check on your temporary housemate. 

*knock knock knock* 

“Stanley..?” 

He opens the door, his eyes looking puffy. 

“Are you going to be okay…?” 

He stayed quiet for a bit, looking at the floor, then finally after some time he responded

“yeah...It just...sucks… I miss Stanford a bit..and I hope he’s doing okay… I just wish my pa cared about me...or at least acted like it…” 

You have no idea what to say, so you just gently grab Stanley by the shoulders and pull him in for a hug. He melted into the hug, like he just really needed one. He squeezed you a little more than he should have, but it seemed all he wanted was the comfort. 

“I’m really trying my best…” he mumbled into your shoulder. 

“I know…” You say, although you didn’t know for sure, you just met him that day, but you could tell he was trying. 

You stood there hugging for a bit. His face in your shoulder, he quietly cried, he hoped you didn’t notice. You did. 

When it ended he cleared his throat and looked away, trying to avoid looking at your eyes, since there were tears on his cheeks. 

“Well uh..thanks..” he says rubbing the back of his neck. 

“No problem…” 

“Good night” he says as he closes the door. 

You walk over to your room, and lay down on your bed. You mumble into your blanket

“I guess I should do my homework now…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changed it from OC to reader;   
> now Ford/reader <3 enjoy


	2. Day 2.

You set your alarm to wake you up early.  
It’s been kind of lonely here, so having Stanley here was nice just knowing you weren’t alone in the house. Although he could be a murderer, you let him stay in your house. Here’s to hoping for the best. 

You got up and made breakfast, and five lunches, there were a few kids that you brought food for since you knew you had enough to share. Two were for Stanley and Stanford, if he decided to come to school, that is. 

You were just about done when Stanley woke up. 

“Hey uh..what are you doing?” 

“Making lunches” you say, without even turning around from the counter, you were wrapping up the last lunch bag.  
You turn around and look at him, snaping your fingers  
“Clothes”.

He was wearing exactly what he wore yesterday. 

“Uh...eat your breakfast, it’s the one on the edge of the counter, I’ll get you some clothes” 

You ran to your room and went through your closet. Your dad left some clothes behind, you pulled out a button up T-shirt and some pants. 

“Eh, this should do, hopefully it fits” you mumble to yourself. You run back to the kitchen and find Stanley sitting at the table eating his breakfast.

“Hey, I got you some clothes” You say as you place them down on the couch.

“You’re not gonna eat?” he asks, his face curious. 

“Nah, I’m okay, I ate a meal’s worth of food while getting all the food prepared, but uh..I’m gonna go shower, once I get out, you can shower if you want” You give him two thumbs up before heading to the bathroom.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Stanley finished eating, then looked at himself. He still had Ford’s blood dried to his arms.  
A shower didn’t sound too bad. He went over and inspected the clothes you brought out for him.

“Mm...looks expensive” he mutters to himself. 

As you were in the shower he decides to look around the house. There were pictures of her with your parents, and a display case full of awards you've won, he got a small sting in his chest from looking at them. It reminded him of Stanford’s awards. 

His mind started wandering…

If he ever won a first place academic award, maybe his dad wouldn’t think he wasn’t such a fuck up. Maybe a first place award for anything…

No...he got awards for boxing...and his dad still didn’t care. It’s not like his dad thought much of him anyway…

He noticed a few pictures of her parents with celebrities on the wall. His face scrunched, he thought it was weird. He noticed a few things around the house that looked expensive, at least he guessed they were expensive, his dad sold similar things at a large price. Despite his urges, he didn’t steal anything.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After Stanley showered and after you both got to school, you went your separate ways. Sure, you were going to see him after school, but you wondered if he was going to be okay.

When chemistry class started, you noticed that Stanford was there, taking notes, his arm in a cast and sling, and bandages on his face. In the class they got to pick their seats, so you sat next to him, it’s not like he was sitting with anyone else. 

“Hey” you start

“Oh, hey” he stated, slightly surprised, he thought that you’d probably go back to not talking to him, since he didn’t really have any friends. 

“How are you feeling?” 

“I...could be better…” he says nervously. 

“Yeah I bet…” 

“Hey um...Stanley gave you a ride home last night, right?” He asked, hesitantly 

“Yeah, why?” 

“Have you seen him since he dropped you off? Like at school or anything?...I’m just concerned…” 

“Y-yeah actually..I offered him to stay in my house till he can go back home…” 

“You did?” He looked surprised, like you told him you were an alien or something. 

“Yeah… he wasn’t doing too well...and I didn’t want him sleeping in his car…” 

“I understand...he slept in his car last time…” 

“So it’s happened before?” 

“Yeah… Pa gets really upset with him…” 

You sat quietly for a bit. It was obvious that out of the twins, the father favored Stanford. You weren’t sure what to say. Your thoughts were interrupted by the teacher. They were telling them how to start the lab. It was easy. 

Towards the end of class you get an idea.

“Hey, you can stay at my house too if you want, even if it’s just for the weekend” 

He turned surprised, his face slightly red. 

“W-what?” 

“Well since Stanley can’t go home...and the both of you mentioned missing the other… you could stay at my place” 

He looked at the books he was placing in his bag.  
“Y-yeah okay, um...I’d have to pick up clothes….for Stanley as well…”

“That’s fine”

You hand him the lunch you made when class was dismissed and you go about your days. 

After school, you had met up with Stanley, waiting outside of Stanford’s class room, just to make sure he wasn’t going to get beat up again. 

The three of you rode in Stanley’s car, and despite missing each other, the twins don’t say much to each other in the car ride. Especially when Stanford runs into his house to grab clothes for him and Stanley. 

“So..'Ford?' This is my house” you say hesitantly, you weren’t sure if only Stanley called him Ford or it was just another name he was fine with. 

His brow raised when you called him Ford, but nothing else.  
“This is a pretty big house” he says with amazement. 

“Yeah…” 

“Hey, is it okay if I go and show him my room? Er… the room I’m staying in?” Stanley asks nervously 

“Yeah that’s totally fine” 

When they head down the hall and into the room, you could hear whispering. You listened in for a second and hear  
“Did ma and pa say anything last night…?” 

“Yeah… but I won’t tell you...it wasn’t nice…” 

“Sixer please… I just want to know.” 

You decide to stop, and set up shop at the dining room table, starting on your homework. You had just about completed all of your anatomy homework by the time the twins came back out. Stanford saw your studies before you completed putting it away 

“Would you like to have a homework partner?” he asks nervously. His face turns a little red when you smile up at him.

“Yeah, grab a seat” 

Stanley sat on the couch with a sketchbook, drawing little doodles, he was a little too nervous to ask to watch tv. 

The house was pretty quiet, occasionally you and Stanford would talk about the questions and the assignments, but not really to ask for help, just confirming answers with each other. 

It stayed this way for a few hours, before you both had everything completed. The goal was to finish everything on friday evening, so they could have more time on the weekend to do whatever teenagers decided to do. There were a few sandwiches you made that you all ate throughout the studying and doodling, counting it as dinner. 

“Hey Nerds, you almost done…?” despite calling the two of you nerds, it didn’t seem like it had any negative connotations attached to it like it does when others call you that. Stanford just smiled at the remark.

“Yes Stanley, we’re almost done” He said with a small chuckle. 

“Okay...just wondering…” 

“Y’know, you can watch the TV if you want” you suggest

Stanley’s face grew into a smile  
“Aw sweet” he says as he grabs the remote and turns on the tv. He keeps it at a low volume since he doesn’t want to be told to do it later. 

“Hey um...I have a question?” you ask Ford

“Yeah?” he looks up from his studying.

“Do you prefer Stanford or Ford…?” 

“Oh, uh...either is fine” He says, a little confused, he was thinking it would be a different question. 

“Okay..thanks” 

“Can I ask you a question..?” He asks hesitantly. 

“Sure” 

“Why are you..being so nice to us? You just met us yesterday and now you’re letting Stanley stay here...and you offered me to stay with him here for the weekend...You aren’t trying to kill us, are you?” 

“Aha no no no, I offered to let him stay because my parents always said if I have a friend who’s in an abusive or neglectful situation, that they could stay here, and sure I just met you guys, but it’s not like you’ve given me any reason to not trust you” 

Ford looks down, he was thinking of his brother’s ‘criminal like’ tendencies or pick pocketing and stealing. He glanced around the house and saw a lot of expensive looking things. Maybe opening up the doors to Stanley might not have been the smartest move. Then the other thing you said kind of hit him

“Abusive? What do you mean?” 

Your face scrunched, a little confused on why he’d ask that. Has it been like this forever? Is that why they don’t see a major problem in how their dad acts?

When you responded, you answered quietly  
“Well...he always makes your brother feel like a failure, he kicked him out...and apparently has done it before...he doesn’t seem to praise him for his accomplishments… whatever Stanley does, he feels like he does it wrong… that’s pretty abusive..” 

Ford is quiet for a second, he thought he was smart, but he seemed to have missed something pretty big. He glanced over at his brother, who’s face he couldn’t see. He looks back over and whispers back,

“But he doesn’t beat us or anything..?” 

“That’s not the point...do you know anything about mental health…? What your dad does...that’s not good for him..or you…” 

Stanford felt like he should defend his dad, but he cared about Stanley more than his dad..and you has a point...Stanley wasn’t doing good. His dad also makes him feel bad, like he has to accomplish a lot with science to get his dad’s approval. 

“Oh…” He looked down at the table and placed his pencil down.  
“So...are you only nice to us because you feel bad for us…?” he says without looking up. 

“No, I’m nice to you, because I think you guys are cool and nice. The offering Stanley to stay was because I felt like he could benefit from it. I don’t just act on pity. So far, I really like you.” you say, but Ford’s expression to you saying you liked him made you quick to correct your words  
“Guys, I like you guys. You’re cool” 

It’s not like you didn’t like him. You just hardly knew him, or Stanley. However, you did find them very handsome. 

“Well, so far, we like you too,” He said with a smile, a slight blush dusted his cheeks.  
“Well, I know I do, but I’m sure Stanley does too” He said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I think you’re great,” Stanley says from the couch. Was he listening to the whole conversation?

Ford and you exchanged smiles. Ford cleared his throat.  
“So uh...I’m done, did you finish your last question?”

“Aah….yep! I’m done.” 

“YES!” Stanley shouts from the couch as he gets up.  
“So what are we doing now?” asked excitedly. 

They both just look at you, hoping you have an answer. You wanted to do something fun, but it was getting too late to go out. 

“OH! We have a hot tub in the backyard, if that sounds like fun” you suggested. Maybe offering a dip in the hot tub with two guys wasn’t the best idea. 

“Oooo sounds fun” Stanley said enthusiastically 

“Isn’t it..going to get cold soon?” Ford asks, nervously. 

“Mmm..well we could go in for an hour? I have a couple of robes we could put on once we get out” 

“But we don’t have any swim wear…” Ford added. 

“We’ll figure something out, I mean you could stay inside” Stanley said with a teasing shrug and smirk. 

“Okay okay, I’ll go” 

“Well I’ll go set it up, then I’ll go change” 

You walk outside, uncover the hot tub, then get everything ready. Your mind screaming that this probably isn’t a good idea in the back of your head. Once finished, you head back inside and get dressed. 

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

“Stanley..I don’t know if this is a good idea...I don’t want her to see me in my underwear…” Ford said quietly, his arms wrapped around his shirtless torso. 

“C’mon, it won’t be too bad, I mean, it’s not like we’re skinny dipping in the ocean” He said with a wink. “And this is the first girl to give you this much attention...you wanna blow this?” 

His face turned red. “I..I don’t know what you’re talking about” 

“Stanford, I think you may have an actual chance here” he says, placing his hands on his brother’s shoulders. 

“Y-you do..?” 

“Yeah! I mean, if you don’t take your shot, then I’m going to” Stanley says with a smile.  
“She is really pretty, after all, prettier than Cathy, that’s for sure” 

Ford looks away. 

“Well, Sixer, tell me, do you want to or not?” 

Ford looked down at his hands, he remembered Cathy screaming when he held her hand. The idea of actually trying again, terrified him. However, her defending him against bullies, saying he wasn’t a freak, and telling him that his hands weren’t a problem, gave him a small sense of hope. 

“Uh… yeah...okay.” 

Stan grinned at him.  
“alright , then I’ll stay in there with you for a few minutes, then I’ll say I have to get out, and I’ll leave you two alone” 

“W-wait, what? Right now? You want me to try right now?” 

“Yeah! It’s perfect timing. I mean, her parents won’t be back for a long time, and if it goes well enough, you can spend time with her all weekend” he said, poking Ford with his elbow.  
“You got this” 

They got quiet immediately after you came back outside. You were wearing a two piece bathing suit, which wasn’t the most common at the time. The twins got a bit excited. Their hands clasping in front of them, arms straight as possible. Well for Ford just one arm, his other was still in a cast. This isn’t awkward. 

“You guys ready to go in?” you offered. 

“Yep” 

“Absolutely” 

And they both jumped in before you could notice their excited bodies. 

It was a lot hotter than they had anticipated.  
“Holy shit!” Stan shouts as he gets in. 

Ford tries very hard to keep his arm above the water, trying not to mess with the cast. He’s pretty good at this, and sits in a little seat with his arm on the side of the tub. 

“I thought you knew it’d be hot” you say with a small giggle. 

You tiptoed your way in, sitting between the twins since they sat opposite of each other.  
“This is nice...don’t you think?” you say as you close your eyes. 

“Y-yeah v-very nice…” Ford says, trying to act super normal, avoiding looking at her entirely.

“actually..I think I’m going to get out. This isn’t as relaxing as I thought it’d be” Stan says, smiling at Ford before you could open your eyes. 

“Aw..really? I mean we all could get out, too-” you say looking at Stan, before he interrupts.

“No no no, don’t worry about it, it’s relaxing, and I’m sure Stanford here can do with the relaxation, I think I might just try getting some sleep” despite his lies, you believed him. He was pretty convincing when he wanted to be. 

“Oh..alright.” 

He crawls out of the hot tub without turning around, he’s giving himself a high five in his mind, wraps himself in the robe, and heads back inside. 

You turn to Stanford, who looks super stiff. His glasses almost entirely fogged up from the steam.

“Hey are you alright?” 

“Y-yeah. All fine and dandy” 

You slowly reached for his glasses  
“May I?” 

He nodded, holding his breath as you took off his glasses. You dunk them under the water and place them back on his face. The fogginess gone, he can see clearly.  
“Thanks…” 

“No problem, my dad wears glasses, so he’d normally dunk them to clear his vision” 

“Ah..makes sense” 

“So um..how’s your eye feeling?” you ask gently

“It’s sore..I can’t wait to see with both of my eyes again” He says with a slight chuckle. “How’s yours?” 

“It’s okay, I wasn’t hit too hard...and at least not as much as you were…” you say with your brows scrunched with concern. 

“Yeah..well hopefully they get locked up…” 

“Yeah…” 

They sat quietly for a few minutes. He was wondering how he was even supposed to...initiate anything. His brother has only given him a few tips. Junior year prom was a disaster, a girl threw fruit punch at him. Maybe flirting was a bad idea. 

“Ford, what are you thinking?” you ask when you notice he was looking out into the night sky, silently. He looks over at you. 

“Just thinking… if you didn’t come..maybe they would have left me for dead… they were pissed..they weren’t just messing with me cause I’m a freak...I was worried I was going to die…”

“Oh…” 

“Just thanks...there is a lot I still haven’t done...it would have been a pretty uneventful life...besides school” 

“It’s no problem, I’d do it a dozen more times if I had to” you say with a smile. “What are the kind of things you wish you could do before you die…?” 

“Heh.. um..well…” he looked at you for a second then looked away. “Uh...well… graduate highschool? And uh..get a degree at a nice university… have my first kiss...get married and have a family I guess…” he looked back over at you. 

your smile was gentle. 

He looked away again.  
“So..uh..yeah...stuff like that I suppose…” 

“That’s pretty standard” you say, your smile still on your face “I gotta agree with you, I pretty much have the same things on my ‘list of things’ to do before I die” 

He looked at you, surprised  
“You haven’t had your first kiss?” 

“nope” you say with a small head shake

“But you’re so pretty-” He cut himself off. 

Your brows raised and eyes widened at the comment. He quickly turned away.  
“Sorry..” he said once he turned away. 

“Why are you sorry?..” 

“I feel like I just made things weird…” 

“No, it’s fine Stanford...if I’m being honest, I think you’re attractive too” 

He shot his attention back to you. 

“W-what? Really?” he asked cautiously. 

“Yeah… “ now your face was a little red, but you didn’t look away. You had a little bit more confidence than he did. 

“Oh” he said looking straight ahead, he didn’t really know what to do with this information. He noticed you looking up at the sky, he was going to join you but he saw Stanley waving his arms in the window, his brows furrowed. Then Stanley ducked his head down and left his hands up, making a kissing motion between his hands, and then popped his head back up smiling. Ford glared at him, and Stan just smiled and went out of view. 

Before he could say anything, you spoke.

“Hey um...I was wondering… what would you do if I kissed you…?” you asked quietly.

He looked at you nervously, and you were still looking at the stars.  
“Like...right now..?” 

You looked over at him, his glasses getting foggy.  
“Yeah..? I mean we’re alone...Stanley is asleep…” 

Ford knew that Stanley was in fact, not asleep...but they were alone. 

“I’d..uh..k-kiss you back” 

There was an awkward silence, you just looked at his face for a few seconds, looking at the cut on his lip, his swollen eye, and the cut on his nose. Maybe kissing him was a bad idea, he’d probably get hurt. There’ll be other opportunities...but...you could just be extra careful..

“M-may I…?

He took a quick inhale and whispered  
“Yes” 

You gently reached out and held his face between both of your hands, removing one of his hands a second to take off his glasses and place them next to his arm outside of the hot tub, then gently placing your hand back on his face. Your hands were just gently placed on his face, you really didn’t want to hurt him. You slowly leaned in and closed your eyes, and he closed his eyes as soon as your lips touched. He feared that if he closed them too early that it’d be a sick prank. 

Once your lips touched, you both sharply inhaled. Ford’s lip started hurting, but even the small sting of pain couldn’t ruin this moment for him. His one free hand reached up and was gently placed on your jaw. The kiss deepend for only a few seconds, before Stanford got a little too excited, and quickly stopped. 

“Is everything okay?” you ask, concerned over the abruptness of stopping. 

“Y-yep…” he tried coming up with a understandable reason “just uh..my lip started hurting…” 

“Oh..” you say, looking at his lip. Luckily it didn’t bust the healing skin. “But um...besides that...what did you think…?” 

His cheeks were red, he reached over and put his glasses back on before answering “it was nice...really nice….did..did you like it?” 

“Yeah..it was nice....best kiss I’ve ever had” you tried laughing off the situation. He appreciated the change in attitude 

“Aha yeah, mine too” he said with a small laugh. 

“So um...I think it’s a good time to get out...don’t you think?” you ask, making your way out of the hot tub. 

“Yeah” he answered. 

You got out and grabbed the robes, wrapping yourself up, and holding one out for Ford. 

He stood up in the water and realized he was still a bit excited. 

You looked toward the house for a second, and Ford took the chance to get up and grab the robe. He only put one arm through, and the other was against his body inside the robe. His cast was still really dry, so he was happy about that. 

Stan was running to his bed once he noticed them walking back to the house. By the time they got in, Stanley was in bed, door closed, and under his blanket.

“So um...that was nice…” you say as you got into the house. 

“Yeah…” 

“So uh...your room is this way…” you say leading him to the other empty room. 

He follows you to the room, grabbing his clothes on the way there. 

“So.. make yourself comfortable…” you say as he placed his bag down. You turned around to leave right after but he reached out and tried grabbing her hand, but only managed to graze those fingers.

You turned around and your brows raised  
“Yeah?” 

“Could um...could we do it one more time…?” He asked quietly.

A gentle smile replaced the concerned look.  
“Yeah…” 

And he comes up to you, picking his free hand up and placing it on your waist, pulling you in, and you place her arms around his neck. He kissed you gently, but it made their hearts flutter. Their bodies an inch apart. This kiss lasted a bit longer than the first, it was deepened a lot sooner too. He had a bit more confidence, because he genuinely believed that you actually wanted to kiss him at this point. He was too nervous the first time. Although he got excited for this kiss too, his confidence helped him not retreat immediately. 

It stopped for normal reasons. 

Your cheeks red

“So um...good night” you say, finally heading to your bedroom. 

“Good night…” 

And you were gone, your door closed. Ford sat down on the bed, smiling to himself, when suddenly his door opened, someone entered, and then closed immediately. 

“So Poindexter, I told you I was right” Stanley said with a mischievous grin. 

Ford’s teeth gritted, and he spoke with frustration and discomfort  
“Stanley.. Really?”


	3. Day 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /\/\/\/\ <\-- means change in POV

Saturday morning, you take the time to sleep in. 

You’re used to waking up early, but you also hope your new house mates would be able to fend for themself. You did leave a box of cereal on the table along with some bowls and spoons, so hopefully they get the hint. 

When you woke up, both of the twins were out in the living room eating breakfast. As you walked down the stairs you saw that Stanley was looking out the window, while Stanford was reading a book, it was quiet enough that you didn’t know they were awake until you entered the room. Stanford is wearing a whole pajama set with a buttoned long sleeve and long pants, and Stanley was wearing a similar ensemble but a plain t-shirt instead of the matching button up. You wore long pants and a loose tank top, it had thick straps and a fancy design on the straps and collar. 

“Good morning” Stanley says as you enter the room, a slight hint of a smug look on his face. 

“Good morning Stanley, Stanford.” You respond.

“Morning..” Ford says shyly, when he saw you his face went red, so he tried to bury his face in his book. 

“So, I had an idea, after breakfast, we go to the Stan O’ War” Stanley says excitedly 

“Stan O’ War?” you ask, puzzled

“Ford and I found a ship when we were little and we’ve been working on it for a few years now, I know he can’t really do much on it right now, but I could still work on it, while you guys sit around at the beach? I mean..unless you wanna help out?” 

“Oh um, well, I’ll have to see it before I decide” you smile, “But it does sound fun” 

The twins smile at your acceptance. Ford’s smile was still directed to his book, but you knew he was reacting to what you said. 

“Well since I’m done, I’ll go get dressed” Stan said, smiling as he walked away. His goal was to get his brother his first girlfriend, he didn’t want to cock block him. 

You get yourself a bowl of cereal and join Ford at the table. 

“What are you reading?” you ask curiously. 

His eyes shoot up from his novel, his lifts it a bit so you can read the cover,  
“The War of The Worlds..it’s about an alien invasion” 

“Oh I’ve read that one” You respond with a smile, your brows raised. 

“Oh? Did you like it?” He responded with an excited smile

“Yeah, it was interesting” you say before putting a spoon full of cereal in your mouth. 

“Do you believe in aliens?” He asks as he places the book down with a ribbon as a bookmark. He seemed excited for this conversation. 

You finish chewing and respond  
“Well of course, I mean we only live in one solar system, in a vast galaxy full of solar systems, and there are other galaxies meaning even more solar systems, so...there has to be other living species out there.” You say brightly and proudly, looking out the window. When you look back at Stanford he is just looking at you in awe, a lopsided smile frozen on his face and his eyes full of joy. You smile a little at his response, and he must have realized he was looking at you like that because his hand quickly shot up to cover his mouth. His glasses fogged up a bit from the air escaping from his covered lowered face. 

“So I take it that you believe in aliens?” you say with a brow raised, taking another bite. 

“Yeah, I think it’s crazy how people can think that Earth is the only planet with life” he says after uncovering his mouth, the smile was still there. 

“Yeah” you say back. 

There's a silence in the air for a minute, and then you just state  
“Well, I’m going to finish up eating, then we can get ready to go?” 

“Yeah” and he opened his book back up and started reading

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After the three of you were dressed, you all got in Stanley’s car, and he drove you to Glass Shard Beach. Stanley wore pants and a striped shirt, Ford wore pants, and a button down collared shirt, and you wore a floral print sunsuit with a skirt covering your legs. The top looked enough like a normal shirt that it went well. You knew that they had no swimwear the other night, but before you went you let them borrow some of your dad’s. Ford had to tighten it a lot to make sure it wouldn’t fall off, but he wasn’t sure he’d even go in the water, since he couldn’t get his cast wet.

You sat in the passenger seat next to Stanley as Stanford sat in the back, he said you’d probably be more comfortable in the front, though he kind of just wanted to glance at you without seeming weird. He felt like this was all a dream, he was beat up so bad, and now he’s in a coma, this was all a coma dream, and you left after he was taken to the hospital. How could anyone like him? Or kiss him like you did? This was a coma dream..but it wasn’t, it was real, at least he hoped it was. He must have been zoning out, because before he knew it you were giggling. His first thought was Stanley was flirting with you, and you were giggling at one of his jokes, maybe you wanted to kiss Stanley and you just used him as a test run, they were identical twins after all...but then you turned around, smiling, and holding something

“You were such a cute little kid” you say with a big smile on your face.

“What?” maybe this was worse, what did Stanely tell you? Or show you?

You lean your arm over and show him the picture Stanley just showed you, it was a picture of them together as small kids standing on the Stan O’ War, or at least half of the Stan O’ War. His face turned red, and he covered his face as much as he could with one hand, having an extra finger helped a bit in that department. Maybe this was worse, Stanley is embarrassing him, and making himself look cool and confident. 

“No Ford, don’t worry, I think you’re really cute” you say, hoping to reassure him, he peeks through his fingers. 

“You hear that, Sixer? She thinks you’re cute!” Stanley says with a laugh, “wait does that mean, I’m also cute?” Stan says with a joking smile. Ford is dying in the back seat. Stan is going to steal you away, and he’ll have to watch you date his brother. 

“Eeehh” you say with a ‘more or less’ hand gesture, followed by a teasing laugh. 

Ford lowered his hand from his face, his mouth stuck in a smile. For a second he felt like you were going to make a comment on how they were identical, so it doesn’t make a difference. He wondered how you could like him with his eye swollen, lip busted, and his arm out of commission for three months. At the moment, Stanley would have been a better option, his face isn’t swollen or anything. 

You turn around and smile at Ford, his face already beaming, the smile he gives you makes your heart skip a beat, and his eye isn’t as swollen as it was the day before. You hoped that he could try at least dipping his toes in the water with you. Thankfully you brought an ice chest full of water and food for lunch, you also packed all the beach essentials, which the boys were not used to. 

Once you get there, Stan carries the ice chest, you hold the blanket and towels, and Ford carries an umbrella over his shoulder with his good arm. It was hot, the beams of the sun sizzling against your shoulders. The waves sounded nice, it’s been a while since you’ve gone to the beach at all, and you live pretty close, and the smell of the sea salt in the air made it feel like summer. It wasn’t the hottest, but it was toasty. The area of the beach they were heading towards didn’t have anyone there. They led you to the Stan O’ War, it was pretty much an almost complete boat, probably only needing some finishing touches. You were slightly surprised that no one has stolen it. 

Ford was watching your expression as your eyes looked around the Stan O’ War, he was nervous, but also excited about what you’d think about it. Except you did something that made his face turn red and his body excited, You removed the skirt you had around your legs, and you just had your sun suit on. The bottoms were like shorts, it’s not like you were completely exposed. Ford glanced over at his brother, who was also looking at you, Ford slightly glared when he saw Stan’s brow raise as if he was checking you out. It’s not like he was jealous, but Stan had a lot of charisma, and he has had a few girlfriends at this point. His success rate was higher, and he calculated the probability of you deciding to change your mind and go for Stan was higher than you choosing him. He looked at you, and you looked up and smiled at him. It’s like you’re trying to kill him, he felt like his heart was going to break out of his chest. 

“This looks really cool guys” you say excitedly once you’re done examining it. 

“Thank you,” Stanford says happily. 

“Thanks toots” Stanley says with a finger gun. Right after he looks at Ford, with a smug grin, while he just looks back frustratedly. Stan knew that he was doing. 

You set up your beach blanket with the boys, and they helped find heavy rocks to put on all four corners so that it didn’t blow away. Stanley helped push the umbrella into the ground and then he went back to the car to get his tools. You sat down on the towel, and encouraged Ford to take a seat next to you. 

“You should take your pants off” you suggest

“W-what??”  
Your face reddens once you realize how that sounded,

“I-I mean...you have trunks on...we could dip our toes in the water… sorry… just forget it” you look away, and stare at the ocean. Ford wasn’t sure what was going through his mind, he stood up and started removing his jeans, trying very hard to not look like a bumbling fool from his lack of balance and trying to do it all with one arm. Once he accomplishes it, he sits down next to you, and unbuttons the top few buttons of his shirt. Once you feel the weight next to you, you look over at him, oh my god, he’s even cuter in the sunlight. Your eyes widen and you can only manage one word after glancing over him

“Fuck” 

His brows scrunched with confusion and bashfulness at your comment, because from the tone and your expression, he could tell you meant it in a good way. 

“Aha thanks?” he says as his face is dusted with blush. 

Your face turns red from realizing you just said that outloud.  
“Aah...mmm...uh...you want to walk along the shoreline with me?” 

He gives you a gentle smile,  
“Yeah, but I can’t really go that deep in the water” he ends it with a gentle chuckle. 

“We could look for cool rocks and seashells if that sounds better?” you ask with a palm up

“That sounds nice...Stan we’re going to go look for rocks and shells and stuff!” he shouts to his brother.

“Have fun!” his brother shouts back, and shoots Ford a wink. When Ford turns back to you, you’re standing up and offering a hand to help him up. He accepts it and gets to his feet. 

The two of you walk next to each other, and occasionally stop and pick up cool shells, rocks, and brightly colored sea glass. You round back to the blanket to place down your spoils before going back to the shore. Before continuing your search you walk right up to the edge, and let the wave rise up and over your ankles. He stops and looks at you

“Ford, come here with me” you ask gently, a sweet smile on your face. His face warms up, and he walks to stand next to you. 

“Close your eyes” you say gently, almost a whisper. He closes his eyes, after looking at you curiously. 

“Listen...what do you hear?…” 

“Uh...birds...the waves crashing onto the beach…” 

“What do you feel?” you ask quietly, slightly closer to him

“I feel...the sand under my feet...the cold water that reaches me when the waves wash in...the breeze...the warmth of the sun….” he pauses when he feels your hand in his. “Your hand…” he opens his eyes slowly. His fingers weren’t tangled with your’s and when you held his hand between both of yours  
“Can I say something..about your hands…” you ask gently, he tries to quickly pull his hand from your grasp. You hold firmly. 

“It’s not bad...I just want to say something…” his expression looked worried at your comment.  
“You’re a very handsome man...and I just wanted to tell you that... You don’t have to worry about your hands around me...you may feel bad..because of what others have said about you, but..I don’t think you’re a freak...or bad..or wrong...and...I...I think I-I’m starting to like you.” 

“What?” he looked so confused, like this was a dream and none of this was happening.  
“You’re...you’re starting to like me? But..but…” 

“I know it’s a bit too forward...and if you don’t feel the same and this is awkward...I won’t make you stay the weekend.” you say, rubbing the back of your neck, looking back out to the sea. 

“I..I think I’m starting to like you too…” said nervously, you let go of his hand with one hand and laced your fingers with his left hand  
“Is..this okay then..?” 

He smiles gently at you  
“Yeah” and he gently laces his fingers with yours, his index and his pinky both on the outsides of all your fingers. After that you just walked down the shore, and held hands, it was very sweet…before you two realize just how far you two have walked. There were more people around. 

“Hey it’s the freak!” a kid shouts from the ocean, along with one of his friends. They see that you’re holding his hand 

“Oh the freak thinks he’s got himself a girl, Ha, okay, sure!” the guy says with a laugh that could cause someone to go into a violent rage. “I’m sure someone bribed you to do it, huh?” the kid asked you “you’re too pretty to be with a freak like this guy” 

Your grip on Ford’s hand tightened. He returned the pressure. 

“Yeah, he’s a loser, a nerd, a freak, wouldn’t you rather be with a man?” He asked, and tried pulling you from Stanford, you resisted. 

“Yes, and he is a real man” you say firmly.

“Nu uh uh, no, you’re out of his league, now us, we know how to party” 

“Leave her alone” Ford said, his voice sounding the most serious you have ever heard, it sent a shiver down your spine. 

“Oh yeah? Tough guy? What are you going to do about it?” He laughed and successfully yanked you from his grip. When Ford tries reaching out to grab you, the guy’s friend grabs him in a choke hold and holds the arm in the cast, threatening to damage it more. 

“Yeah no. We can’t have you tainting the goods” the guy looks over to his friend, and makes a gesture, and the other guy starts choking him. 

“NO! Stop! Don’t hurt him!” you cry out, “Please, don’t hurt him!” you shout as loud as you can. Hoping Stanley heard. 

The guy drops him, and he falls to the floor gasping for air.  
“Alright, we’ll let him go, but you’re coming with us” the guy says with a devilish smile. 

“NO! I’m not going anywhere with you!” you shout as one of the guys helps the other pick you up from your ankles. You regret only wearing a sun suit. 

Suddenly you feel yourself fall to the ground. Stanley had somehow ran across the beach as soon as he heard the other guy shout ‘hey it’s the freak’, and decked the guy right across the face, your feet were still up, being held by the other guy, but were soon dropped so that they could try to fight back Stanley. You crawled over to Stanford, who was still gasping for air, his hand holding his neck. 

“Are you okay?” you ask, worried. What luck, huh?

“Yeah...are you okay?” he asks, concern filling his voice. 

You glance behind you, and see that Stanley had already punched one of the guys hard enough that he ran away, and the guy who was doing all the big talk was under him while he was repeatedly pounding his fists into the guy’s face.  
“I’ll be okay..Stanley!” you say as you get up, and tug at his shoulder “Stanley you should stop!” he stopped, and looked down at the guy under him. 

“Okay” he huffed, and he got up. 

The guy spit out blood  
“You’ll pay for this Pines!” 

Stanley glared at him  
“No, I don’t think I will,” he said with a smug smile. 

The three of you rushed back to the Stan O’ War, Stanley haphazardly shoved everything into the trunk, and tailed it out of the lot. This time you sat in the back seat with Stanford, his expression looked sad. He felt like he failed, and that you probably didn’t like him anymore. 

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Stanley’s mind was whirling. 

‘Do I have to join them on every date so that people don’t try messing with him? Or her? Does she even like him? I could have sworn I saw them holding hands. What do I do? Is it going well for him? Today probably didn’t go too well.. Those guys could have done something really bad to her. Does Ford even understand how horrible that could have gone? God, do I have to give him the talk? I don’t think Pa even thinks Ford’s got a chance with anyone enough to give him the talk. He only told me because he thinks I’m reckless and that I’ll get someone pregnant. Ma would love her. FUCK, do I have to give him the talk? FUCK, THAT’LL BE AWKWARD. Sure, trying to be a wingman and get him to kiss her is one thing, but that’s a completely different thing.’ 

“Ughhh” 

“Stanley, is everything okay?” You ask after hearing Stan’s groan of exasperation. 

He widened his eyes and glanced at you from the rearview mirror.  
“Yeah no. Everything is fine.” he says through gritted teeth. He wasn’t very convincing. Ford looks at him through the mirror, and Stanley gives him an expression that just says ‘we need to talk later’. Ford barely nods, but enough for only Stan to notice. 

Once you all get to your house, you decide to go jump in the shower to wash off the sand, and hope to forget about what happened with the guys. 

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Stanford asks his brother once you leave the room. 

“errm….It can wait…” he says before sucking in his lips. He sits down on the couch, and fiddles his thumbs before looking back at his brother, who now has an expectant expression on his face.  
“Okay… Stanford…” He sighs out, before patting on the seat next to him on the couch. “Today…” His nose scrunched up “Could have gone really bad…” he looked at his brother with a pained expression. “Those guys… were probably planning on doing something bad to her…” Ford’s confused look on his face made him feel forced to elaborate “they were probably going to try to force themselves on to her… or...in….. And..and it could have been bad… so uh..I thought since Pa hasn’t told you yet...that I should explain..” his brow was sweating, was it hot in here? God this is uncomfortable “uh...sex and consent…” 

Ford’s eyes widened, ‘oh god, this is going to be awkward’, his face turned red  
“No, Stanley it’s fine..I know where babies come from…” he says with his hands up, trying to get Stan to stop. 

“I know you know the science of it..but...you don’t know about the other stuff, do you?” He asked, his face in a grimace. 

Ford remains silent. 

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

You walk down the stairs to the living room, but when you reenter, both boys look incredibly uncomfortable, it looks like they had just finished up a conversation.

“Hey guys, what are you talking about?” You ask with a brow raised. 

“Nothing,” they respond in unison, very quickly. 

“Uhm...okay” 

“How are you feeling?” Stan asks, trying to act casual. 

“Better now...thanks” 

Ford looks at you, you’re wearing black dress pants, and a floral blouse tucked in. your hair was freshly washed so it looks softer than ever. He just looks at your face, your eyes, your smile...he has always thought you were very beautiful, but looking at you just made him happy...Or Maybe he’s just seeing you differently knowing you like each other. He was so caught up in admiring you that he almost completely forgot how awkward he just was.

“So um...the twilight zone should be on soon, if you wanna watch that?” you offer

A smile grows and brows raise on Stanford’s face, and Stanley just raises a brow.

“What zone?” he asks, confused

“Stanley, I swear we’ve watched that together” Ford says, confused

“Oh...then uh...I probably fell asleep. If you wanna watch it now, then yeah!” he says with a thumbs up and a large smile. 

Once you put it on, he falls asleep within the first few minutes, already lightly snoring.

You quietly sit on the left side of Stanford, his hand resting on the couch next to him, while your hand is resting just a few inches from his. You’ve held hands before. Hell, he was your first kiss, just the night before, why is your heart racing right now. You gently move your pinky finger closer to his, although there is still an inch of space left. 

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As soon as Stan fell asleep, and Ford knew just the two of you were alone, his heart felt like it was in his throat, was it panic? Excitement? Apprehension? He couldn’t tell. His lip wasn’t swollen anymore, it wouldn’t hurt if he tried kissing you again. Did he have the nerves to do that again...knowing feelings were involved now? What if Stanley wasn’t sleeping? That would be awkward. He was..ready for his first kiss but...was he ready for a romantic relationship…? That thought started to give him more panic, he remembered the beach, and how they treated you, then what they could have done...he thought of the things they said. He was scared that you would end up being a victim of bullying if you got too involved… his thoughts were spiraling. But then he felt something touch his hand. 

Your hand. 

He doesn’t look at you, but he gently moves his hand so that your fingers may lace together. Maybe he was ready for this. Though romantic relationships were not just solely holding hands and kissing… given his recent memory of what Stanley had just told him. Geez. Stop thinking about that right now. He felt like his palm was sweaty. ‘Should I stop?’ he thought. 

“Are you still watching this…?” you ask quietly. 

“Not really…” he quietly responds.

“Do you want to go sit in the backyard with me? I have a big blanket we can put on the lawn…?” you ask shyly. 

He smiles and turns to you,  
“Sounds like a lot of fun” 

The sun would be setting soon, and the sky looks beautiful when it changes colors. From the bright light blue, to an orange, with tints of pink and purple on the clouds, yellow dancing amongst the colors..then it all turns purple...then navy...then practically black. It’s as though an indecisive painter was in charge of painting the sky. 

You set out a big blanket and place it on the lawn, you pulled out an extra big blanket to put on top if it gets colder, and several pillows. You put a knitted sweater over your blouse and lay down on the blanket. When Stanford comes outside, he is wearing a pretty baggy sweater and he has his right arm in it’s sling over his sleeve. You raise an eyebrow, and he noticed

“My grandma got it for me...she said I’ll ‘grow into it’, but like...I’m seventeen...I don’t know how much more she’ll think I’ll grow” he ended it with a slight chuckle. 

“Well, at least your cast fits in it” you add with a big smile on your face. 

“It does, doesn’t it?” he responded with a lopsided smile. He tries his best to maneuver his way to lay down on the blanket. He placed his left hand on the ground once he got to the floor, and he laid down next to you on the blanket. You on his left side. He was glad you pulled out pillows. 

A chill shoots down your back as the breeze picks up as the sunsets. You’re glad you also brought out an extra blanket. 

“You uh...wanna get under the blanket with me?” 

‘Y-yeah…” and you sit up for a second to grab the blanket and scootch closer to Ford, your right shoulder touching his left, and place the blanket over him and then yourself. Under the blanket you slowly reach for his left hand, but instead of intertwining your fingers, you pull it out from under the blanket and pull it slightly above your face in the air. You hold it with both of your hands. 

He thinks you're going to make a comment on them, but you just hold the back of his hand in your left hand and use your right hand to gently slide your finger tips down his fingers. Over and over, switching a finger with your pinky so that you gently slide down each of his fingers. You are just looking at it, but finding comfort in Stanford relaxing under your touch. He’s very self conscious of his hands, but with you...he doesn’t worry too much. 

You continue to slide your finger tips down his hand as you start talking

“I had a nice time with you today..before everything happened..” you say gently, without looking away from your hands. “I’m sorry...that they said those things to you”

“I should be sorry….they could have taken you…” he says, still staring at the sky. 

“Yeah…” you respond quietly. 

“Y’know I...I’m very surprised you like me… out of the two of us….it’s always Stanley who ends up with someone liking him…even my dad thinks that I’d never meet someone…” he confesses, he sucks in his bottom lip for a second, but once the silence goes on too long, he turns to you. 

You turn to him, and lace your right hand fingers with his left hand, and rest your arms back down to your sides. 

“Stanford….” you were going to make a comment related to liking him, but there’s another negative thing about their dad “your dad is wrong...I mean..not just on this...many other things..but for now..yeah, I don’t think I like your dad too much.” 

Stanford just chuckles at your remark. 

You sit in silence for a while as the sky changes colors, you quietly sit for several minutes, just enjoying the sunset. Once the sky is engulfed in a pink and purple he decides to say something. More, ask you something. 

“I have a question...the old theater is having a viewing of ‘The Blob’ next weekend...and I wanted to know if you were interested in going with me...like..on a date…?” he asked, his voice slightly shaking from his nerves. At this point did he think you were going to say no? 

“Yeah” you say with a smile, your face inches from his. From laying down for this long, his glasses are slowly sliding off his face, but he didn’t really want to pull his hand away from yours. All of this was too new for him, he didn’t know if he retreated his hand now if you were going to accept it again. 

He really did look cute with his glasses crooked on his face… His face turned pink from the closeness of the situation. 

“a-and...I had another question…” he asks, almost as though he’s choking on his words. You hum in response, hoping he’ll continue with his question.  
“I-i-i...was um...wondering if… you would...consider… being my girlfriend…?” He looks at your stunned expression “I know...that it’s..soon..and we just met a few days ago.. but...I don’t know...maybe Stan just got into my head...just...forget it…” 

“What did Stan say..?”

“Well.. uh…” he turned his attention back to the sky “he said that...If I like you...and you like me...then I should… ask you..because he thinks I’ll miss my chance and wait too long….” 

“Oh… well...regardless of what Stan says...I was going to say… I would like that very much…” you say with a soft smile, hoping he’d look back at you. 

“You’d...like to be my g-girlfriend?” he asks when he looks back at you, his brown eyes looking at you through his glasses. 

“Yeah, I think I’d like that” You answer with a big smile, a smile grows on his face, and it causes his glasses to slide down. He pulled his hand out from yours, and instead of pushing his glasses back up, he took them off. He lifts himself up on his elbow, and places his hand on your cheek. His faces inches above yours.

He nervously looks down at you, you look...very blurry. He leans down and places his lips on yours. Maybe it’s the fact that he's now your boyfriend, and the confidence has gotten to him, or that his lip isn’t swollen anymore, but he kisses you with much more passion than the other time. It catches you by surprise, but you melt into it. Both of your eyes close on impact. You open your lips a bit, and he does the same. Not enough to french kiss, but it creates a motion to the kiss, helping it last longer. 

Your hand goes up and into his fluffy brown hair. You don’t mean to mess it up, but you do. Once you stop, he still holds his face above yours, his nose gently touching yours, his eyes are closed and so are yours. You felt so relaxed, you could have stayed like that for longer, but he sighed and he went back to laying on his back. He tried to bend his knees, so that they were up, in the most casual way, but it was kind of obvious he was trying to hide his excitement. His face was stuck in a grin. 

You had a big smile on your face as well. That was..nice.  
“Are you feeling okay?” you ask with a slight giggle. 

“Amazing” he answers, his face beaming. 

As though the weather beings were letting you have your moment, and since the moment was over... they acted, and it started raining. 

“Ah!” you quickly shot up, and helped Ford to his feet. He held the pillows under his arm, while you bundled up all the blankets. The cold rain dropped onto your heads, but despite the timing, you were glad it didn’t happen while you were kissing. 

When you both ran into the house, Stanley was in the kitchen cooking dinner. The kitchen has a window that leads right to the back yard. Did he see?

“You have fun out there?” he asked with a smug smile and his brows raised. You honestly can’t deny it at this point.

“Yep” was all you said, trying to act smug, but it wasn’t really working out. 

A grin grew on Stanley’s face.  
“Is that so?” how can someone look even more smug? 

You suck your lips in, maybe the smug response route wasn’t the best option.

“Y-yeah” Ford manages to say.

“ooOOokay” Stanley says before turning around. “Well I made Mac and cheese”

“Nice,” you say, hoping to have the conversation topic changed entirely. 

Stanley decides to tell a story of things they did when they were younger. That he thought he shoved someone off a cliff to their death, but the kids were fine, and how made good with some circus people because Ford showed he had six fingers. He told a story of once having a pet possum, but he never dared let his parents know. 

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After dinner, your parents called you, so you went upstairs to talk on the telephone. 

“SO, Stanford, anything you wanna tell me?” Stanley asks, a grin on his face

Ford feels like his face is getting hot and he sucks his lips in. He did want to tell him, but he didn’t really know how to say it. 

“Okay, how about this. I’m just going to sit here, and wait for you to tell me.” he sits down on the couch and holds his chin, with his index finger going over his lips. He stays completely silent and just looks at his twin. Silence settles over the room for several minutes before Stanford gives in. 

“Okay.. so I MAY HAVE asked her..to be my girlfriend…” Stanford starts, holding his right hand with his left and making small circles on the top of his hand. 

Stanley’s serious ‘waiting’ face, slowly grew into the biggest smile.  
“And? What did she say?” 

“Yes-” before he could finish the one small word, Stanley stood up and gave Stanford a hug, picking him up and spinning him in a circle. 

“AHAHA YES!” 

“Stanley...please...you’re squeezing me...my arm..” Ford manages to squeeze out despite his face being squished against his brother. 

“Oh sorry sorry. I mean i totally suspected it happened, because I totally saw you take initiative before you two started making out” he ended with a wink and a soft arm punch. 

“Y-you saw?” 

“Yeah, but it’s not like I stayed and watched or anything, I just peeked out for a second, I thought you’d chicken out.” he says with a shrug.

“Stanley” he says before sucking in his lips. 

“Stanford,” he places a hand on Ford’s shoulder “I’m proud of you” he ends with a big smile. 

Part of Ford was embarrassed, but he was proud of himself too. He let out a small chuckle  
“Thanks”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MM-hope you enjoyed <3
> 
> "Dating someone after several days of knowing eachother is very common considering they both never had a previous relationship and they are in highschool. At least, monderately common...I'm not actually sure, I'm just basing the commonalidy on my personal expirences."
> 
> ^ who said that?


	4. Meeting the Folks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW.  
> Talk of past sexual assault sorta  
> Talk of past self harm.  
> hints of child abuse.

Sunday morning, Stanford asked if Stanley could take him to the house so he could pick something up, but for some reason, his parents told him he had to stay home. Stanley suspected it was because they saw him with Stanford and thought if they hung out, it wasn’t punishment enough. 

The rest of the day you and Stanley just hung around and watched television. He challenged you to an arm wrestling fight, but that’s only because he knew he’d win. The whole day was pretty light hearted, it was nice to have him around, he’s a great friend. However, during dinner he started asking you real questions

“So...what do you like about Stanford?” you pried. 

“Uh...well...he makes me happy...there's a….a bunch of reasons..” 

“okay..I’ll give you that… you’re not just...fucking with him..are you?” he asked seriously, a brow raised 

“What? No.” 

“Alright… can you promise me something….” 

“Uh...depends…” 

“Don’t break his heart…” Stanley says, looking down at his empty dinner plate. 

“I’m not planning on it..” 

“Good…”

The rest of the night went back to being light hearted, he was really fun to hang out with. He reminded you of an old childhood friend, or maybe it was just hanging out with him made you feel like a carefree kid again. He told you about his on-again-off-again girlfriend and how he feels like it may be over for real this time. It was obvious to you that he was crazy about her, loved her a lot, but his voice seemed scared that she didn’t feel the same for him. They broke up a few weeks back because her parents caught them fooling around when she thought they’d be gone for hours. Her parents said they’d make her move schools if she stayed with him. He understood, but he missed her dearly.

You were sitting on the couch together when you realized he had fallen asleep next to you. You were fine leaving him there, the couch was pretty comfy, but his shirt was slightly lifted up and you noticed something. 

He was covered in scars, some very recent. You couldn’t just ignore it, so you started shaking him awake, and he shot up with a slight leftover snore.  
“Hmm? What is it?” he asked while rubbing his eyes. 

“Stanley…” You look at him, your eyes full of worry

“What? You look like you just saw a dead body,” he sits up all the way “what’s going on?”

“When did you last cut yourself?” you demand, pain in your voice.

His eyes widened, and the color of his face vanished. 

“Wha-why would you ask such a ridiculous question?” he tried lying, but his voice went up a little too high.

“Stanley...I saw…” you look straight into his brown eyes.

“I..” he hesitated, he tried thinking of lies ‘I got in a fight with a guy with a knife’ or ‘I had surgery, they’re just old surgery scars’ but he knew you were too smart for that  
“a few days ago...my first night here…” he answered as he looked down at the floor. 

“Why...you could have talked to me…”

“...I...I don’t know.... I thought it’d help me deal with my feelings…”

“Stanley…” 

He held his hands together and fiddled his thumbs. 

“If you ever feel like that again...can you please...come to me...or Stanford…” you say placing a hand on his shoulder

“Probably you...I can’t tell Ford…” he quietly mumbles, still avoiding your eyes.

“Stanley...he loves you...I’m sure he’ll want to make sure you’re alright…”

He remains silent. 

“Just….reach out to me...even if it’s the middle of the night, I’ll be here for you, okay?” 

“Okay…” 

“Let's go upstairs and go to sleep...okay?” 

You both get up and he follows you up the stairs, he walks into his room and sits down, when you go to close the door he stops you

“Wait….” 

You look up at him

“Don’t….” he stops himself for a second “don’t tell Stanford…” 

Your brows furrow, he sees your change in expression, and decides to add  
“Unless you have to….” 

“Okay…. And one more thing….give me the knife” you say, closing your eyes and holding your hand out. You hear a reluctant sigh and the bed squeaking as he gets up, then the sudden weight of a pocket knife in your hand. You open your eyes again once you hear the bed squeak again.  
“Thank you...good night…” 

“Night…”

~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, Stanley drove you to school, you handed him his lunch before you parted ways, and went to your first class. You wore a forest green dress, with a small lace design on the button, and Stanley wore another one of your dad’s button down shirts. Before you knew it you were in chemistry class, and you finally got to see Stanford. He was wearing a dark blue short sleeve button down shirt. He looked so handsome. 

His face lit up once he saw you walk into the room. You joined him at the desk, and greeted him

“Good morning” you say quietly with a big smile on your face

“Good morning to you too” his smile gave you butterflies in your stomach. 

“How was your day yesterday?” you ask, genuinely concerned

“It...could have been better” 

“I’m sorry…” you offer a gentle smile, and he takes your hand under the desk and gives you a reassuring squeeze. 

Midway through class there is a loud announcement.

“Would the Pines twins please come to the principal's office. Stanley and Stanford Pines to the principal's office” 

He looks at you, his expression hard to read, but definitely concerned. 

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Once he enters the Principal's office, he is met with his parents and Stanley. There was a closed file on the Principal's desk. Ford sits down next to Stan.

“Thank you for joining us Stanford…” the Principal starts “I have brought you all here on behalf of Stanley. I have some reports explaining that you beat up these two kids at the beach this weekend” He says as he pulls out two student files, each with photos of the kids from the beach who attacked you. 

FIlbrick Pines just stares down Stanley. Caryn is sitting down, looking at Stanley, her hand on her very pregnant belly. 

“And unless you have a very good reason, we will have to expel you from school.” The principal said, crossing his arms on the desk. 

Stanley is quiet for a minute, and looks over at Ford, hoping to get his approval to give an honest answer. After a few seconds of mental debate between the two, Ford gives Stan the okay. 

“Well?” 

Stan takes a heavy gulp and answers, very quickly  
“We were at the beach, and Ford was walking on the shore with his girlfriend, and those guys started teasing him, but then they grabbed her, and they were trying to take her away and…. Do something bad to her, but I stopped them, and she’s safe, if I did nothing, they would have done it...I’m sure of it...their faces... they...they were going to…” the words all spewed out but slowed at the end. 

FIlbrick Pines lets out a low, sarcastic, asshole fuckface laugh.  
“You seriously expect us to believe that pack of lies, Stanley? Stanford has a girlfriend, and you just had to beat those kids up to save her? What? Next, are you going to try to convince us that you got a job with the government?”

Stanford sank down in his chair a small bit, was it so hard for his dad to believe he had a girlfriend? 

“But it’s true!” Stan pleased defensively. “She comes here! You can ask her what happened, and she can tell you! I can even leave the room if you think I’ll make her lie….” 

“Okay then, wise guy. What’s her name?”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Before you knew it, your name was being called to go to the principal’s office. Was it because Ford just went to the principal's office. You never got in trouble before, so you hoped for the best.

Before you walk in, you see Stanley sitting down, playing drums on his shoes, and zoning out. 

Once you get there, you feel angry eyes gaze over your body. Their father, Filbrick Pines, was glaring down at you, with sunglasses on inside a building. What a prick. 

“You called for me?” you ask, clasping your hands together.

“Yes, take a seat” you nervously took a seat next to Stanford, his expression just read ‘panic, help help help’. 

“Do you know these gentlemen?” the principal asked while showing you pictures of the guys from the beach

“Yes, and they aren’t gentlemen.” You say as you cross your arms, it’s about those guys? And Filbrick is here? Fuck that man. Fuck those guys from the beach. And fuck...Stanford? Aha not yet, at least not in the negative way. OH shit, don’t think about that now with his parents here.

“Care to elaborate?” the principal presses

“Well..” and you remove one hand from your crossed arms, and lift it in a small gesture towards Ford when you start explaining “we were walking down the beach together...and started calling Stanford names..then they saw me with him and tried repeatedly to pull me away, saying things like wouldn’t you rather be with a ‘real man’ And how they think he’s a ‘freak’...then grabbed me from him and choked him….and they started carrying me away when Stanley punched him… they were going to do something bad to me...they were already trying to remove my apparel….” You started off sounding pissed off but ended it with a pain to your voice that caused Ford to look at you with worry. 

There was a silence as the principal took notes, and then finally he spoke  
“The story checks out, Stanley will not be expelled.” 

There was a sigh of relief from Ford and his mom, but his dad seemed unbothered, what an asshole. 

You were all excused from the office, and once you walked out you were quickly hugged by Ford’s mom. You stiffened at the contact.

“It’s so nice to meet you! Our little Stanford has never had a girlfriend before, so we’re happy he found someone!” 

You gently pat her on the back with one hand, hoping she’ll stop hugging you. However before she pulls away, you feel a tap on your stomach,  
“Oh goodness, seems my little baby wanted to say hi to you too!” 

You put a lopsided smile on your face, with only a hint of awkward, that only Stanford could notice. 

“You should join us for dinner tonight!” 

“Oh thanks-” 

“Stanley can pick you up, and we can eat together!” She said excitedly, Filbrick cleared his throat to get Caryn’s attention, “what? He saved her, he should be able to come back home”, but he gave no response 

“So we’ll see you for dinner?” 

“Y-yeah” 

“Great!” 

You and Stanford walked back to class together, it was on the complete other side of campus so it took some time. 

“Ford…” 

He looks at you, his eyes full of an unspecified negative emotion. 

“Are you okay?” 

“yeah...I just hope things go well…” 

“Me too…” 

Before you open the door to the classroom, you give him a quick kiss on the cheek and run into the classroom. His hand goes up to his cheek and he quickly lowers it and follows you into the classroom. 

~~~~~~~~ 

After school you meet up with Stanford and Stanley. There is an air apprehension around the three of you. It’s hard to know what to expect.

Stanley wasn’t used to being accepted back into the house as soon as he is going to be. He wasn’t excited about it, he was scared, he hoped his dad wasn’t still upset. Besides the abrupt change in his exile..the feeling of fearing his dad was all too normal for him.

Stanford was dying. He’s dying. He’s dead. He’s bringing his first girlfriend home to meet his parents, and he’s dying. There are pictures of him all over the walls as a child. Stanley is going to show you his room with all his nerdy things. Nerdy? No...he knows you like most of the things he likes already. You liked him...no matter what he liked. Right? Oh no. what if it’s too much? What if you realized you didn’t like how much of a nerd he was. 

He was panicked. 

You felt...uncomfortable. You were fine with Mrs. Pines, you didn’t really hear anything bad about her. But Filbrick. Ugh. Fuck that guy. You didn’t know how you were going to act nice with him, hopefully he just sits there and nothing. Nothing. You don’t want to say more to him other than a greeting. Unless Ford REALLY needs you to be nice to him. 

~~~~

You had only been outside of their house, you saw the shop and the signs, hot belgium waffles next door, but nothing else really. When you walked in it spelt like old, dusty leather and metal. Mr. Pines was sitting by the register when you came into the shop. He only greeted you with 

“Children” 

“Dad” they respond in unison, and you slightly raise your hand to wave, and he just offers you a small nod, not even changing his expression. Ugh. 

You follow the boys as they lead you into their living room, it still looks like a business area, but more homey than the pawn shop. Doesn’t smell as dusty, either. 

“There’s my two babies!” Mrs. Pines says enthusiastically, while pulling the two of them on either side of her for a hug. Maneuvered both of them so that they were on both sides of her very pregnant belly. 

“And you must be my future daughter-in-law!” she says as she hugs you, your face turns red from the comment, and you can see Ford’s face turn red, “MOM” He says, slightly panicked. He thinks if his mom comes on too strong, it could turn you off of him, think it’s too much. 

“Whaaat? I’m a psychic, I know it’s gonna happen” she says to Stanford with a smile and a wink. He jumps a tiny bit, only enough to knock his glasses off the bridge of his nose. 

Stanley quietly chuckles, and covers his smile with his first. When he sees you look at him, he shoots you a quick wink, not in a flirty way, but more like ‘she’s lying’ about the psychic thing. However, you honestly can’t tell. He just seems like a very flirtatious guy.

Sometimes when you’re alone with Stanley, things get awkward, like he likes you, but you know he still had feelings for Carla. Well, at least when he wasn’t in a relationship.

“Hey, can I show you somethin for a minute...Look at this cutie!” Mrs. Pines said, almost out of nowhere. She handed you a naked baby picture, tiny little baby butt and puffy hair. 

“Oh my gosh! He’s so cute!” you say happily as you take the photograph in your hand. 

“My little Stanford’s always been a cutie!” she added, a wide smile on her face as she looked at her completely flustered son. She turns her gaze to Stanley “My Stanley’s also a cutie, but he’s had more confidence and charisma, girls flock to that” she offered him a lopsided smile, and he smiled back, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Mom...please?” Ford pleads, looking down at your hands, hands clasped behind his back. You can’t see his eyes, just a reflection off of his glasses.

“Okay baby, okay” she says, put her hands up in mock surrender.  
“I’m going to clean some things up” she says before leaving the three of you. 

You look back down at the picture still in your hands, and smile. You wonder if you had a child with Ford, if they would have six fingers, or if they would look like this. Probably a mixture. 

“What are you thinking?” Ford asks as he stands next to you, looking at you with curious eyes. His face is close to yours, and you realize it was just the two of you in the living room. Where did Stan go off to? You wonder, but then you hear him talking to his mom in a different room talking and that thought goes away. It sounded like they were talking about you and Ford, but it was better than them eavesdropping. 

“Just thinking you’re cute, wondering how you never had a girlfriend before”

His cheeks are dusted with pink. 

“Thanks..and… most likely because I’m just awkward...I have six fingers… I like things like Lord of the rings...and science fiction...aliens...bigfoot...” he said that last part while scratching at the outside of his cast. 

“Well.. I like all those things too… people just don’t see how much of a catch you are” you say, reaching up and holding his left hand, he looks down at your hand then back up at you, his brown eyes looking into your eyes through his glasses.

“I really like you….” he said, bashfully, his thumb rubbing the back of your hand. 

“I know you do” you smile softly at him, reciprocating the small circles on his hand “and I like you too…” your eyes slightly widened as he rose your hand and brought it to his lips. Gently kissing the top of your hand...it made you feel like a princess. When his eyes glanced back up at you, your cheeks were skimmed with a light red and your eyes were wide, he looked panicked by your expression.

“I’m sorry…” and he said awkwardly as he took a step away. “You probably-”

“Ford” you start, reaching out to him “..it’s fine...it’s cute” you say as you offer him a smile. His eyes brighten at your smile “o-okay” he muttered out, a blush spreading to his ears. You could have looked at that cute flustered face for much longer, but the color quickly leaves his face as he hears steps making their way up the stairs. 

“Stan” A firm emotionless voice calls to Ford. 

“Yes, Sir?” Ford tries to make his voice solid but he seems nervous. You turn your eyes to see who spoke, and of course...it’s their father. 

“Are you going to properly introduce me?” he spoke seriously, like he wasn’t very interested in meeting you. 

“Oh right, yes” Stanford walks over to his father, you trailing behind. He tells his dad your name, and you shake the old man’s hand. You manage a cheery disposition, but a part of you wants to yell at the man immediately. Instead of saying the usual ‘it’s a pleasure to meet you’, he just nods and walks away. 

Stanford’s eyes glance to you as he notices you looking at where his dad went off to  
“Is everything okay?” 

“Yeah, hun, just thinking…” You say as your brows scrunch down in the middle. 

“About…?” He asks, his tone nervous. 

Noticing this you turn your head to look over at him, and go to reassure him  
“Nothing about you…. Just...your dad…” you say looking into his eyes, your eyebrows turned up. 

“Ah… yeah…” he says somberly. “He’s...a lot.” 

There was a small silence between the two of you before you placed the photo down on the side table. Having free hands and a lull in the conversation you start to glance around the house. There's quiet conversation going on between Caryn and Filbrick, sounding like they're talking to or about Stanley. You slightly fill with concern, Stanley has been a good friend so far...despite not knowing him long, you cared deeply. You liked Ford romantically, but Stanley was a good guy. He didn’t deserve what his dad made him feel like. 

The house in comparison to yours is pretty compact, the kitchen and the livingroom were all in the same quarters. The television against one wall, and the stove opposite. The walls were covered in a sun patterned wallpaper, with a clock that shared a similar sun shape. There was a light that hung down from the ceiling that you swear is low enough for them to hit their head on it on multiple occasions. 

“Hey lovebirds, lets go to the room, ma wants to make dinner.” Stan suggests as he enters the room. As you look at Stanley, he makes an odd expression like ‘deal with it’ but then you notice he’s having a silent conversation with Stanford. 

You glance over at your partner who quickly forces a smile. If he thought you coming over soon after starting the relationship was scary, you seeing his room was terrifying. All of his own personal stuff was in there. Some robotics he was working on or the fact that he and Stanley sleep in a bunk bed despite being too big for one. 

“Yeeeeaaah, let's do that” Ford said with his teeth clenched. You didn’t know what he was so worried about. 

As you enter the room you see a bunk bed, two dressers, one with a boxing trophy and a few photographs and the other covered in academic trophies and awards. The wall next to the top bunk was covered in photographs and posters of science fiction movies and a copy of the Loch ness photograph. On the side of the bed hung boxing gloves. 

You glanced over to a desk to find a few robots and mechanical contraptions, and blueprints and notes littering the surrounding desk. 

“Welcome to sala de Stan,” Stanley said with his arms outstretched. 

You hum in thought for only a second before saying “Homey” lightheartedly. You offer a smile to the brothers, but when you turned to Stanley, his expression was flat and he was making his way to the bottom bunk. He silently laid down and pulled out a comic book, crossing his legs and a mumbled “just do your own thing”. 

You decide it’s probably not best to press him to talk right now, but you wonder if he’ll open up to Ford. You suspected he hadn't told him since he doesn’t want Ford to fall behind or blame himself, you knew how much Stanford’s success and happiness means to him. Maybe you’ll ask him later. 

Ford awkwardly held onto his casted arm, he never thought there would be a girl in his room that was there for him and not Stanley. He looked at you, slightly adjusted his glasses than nervously asked  
“are you um...up for a game of chess?” 

You brows raise at the suggestion  
“oh yeah!” you smile at him brightly “haven’t had any one to play with for the past few months” which really was sad. You used to play against your parents when it came to choosing what to have for dinner, and since they’ve been gone you’ve just had what you wanted. 

His expression is that of a surprised happy owl, but he should really get used to the idea that you weren’t going to shun him or tease him on his likes or dislikes. 

You sat quietly playing chess on the floor for about half an hour, with the occasional sound of a page flipping from Stan’s bed. You would have teased him, tried messing with him, or making challenging jokes, but you weren’t sure how well he’d be with that, at least this soon into the relationship. Of course, in the end he won the game of chess, with you congratulating him and him bashfully accepting the praise. 

“Kids! Dinner!” you heard Mrs. Pines shout out. After the whole half hour there was sound in the room again, and Stanley helped you and Stanford up and onto your feet. 

As you make your way to the table ,you notice Stanley is holding on tight to his body, slinking his arms around his torso as he hangs his head down low. You wonder what his parents said to him, or at least what his father said to him. Your mind was elsewhere when you sat down between the boys on one side of the table, Caryn and FIlbrick on the other.

“Stan.” Filbrick said without emotion, his eyes covered in his dark sunglasses. Both twins turned their head to their father,  
“She isn’t your girlfriend because she needed to copy your homework” he asked Ford, and then turned to Stanley “or because you paid her to be, right?” 

The three of you are shocked by the words that just came out of his mouth. Ford’s whole face turned red as he stared down into his plate. How could he ask that? You reached under the table and reached for Ford’s left hand, you gave him a small squeeze, he gave a small squeeze back, but he didn’t look at you at all. 

“Are you serious?” Stanley glared up at his dad, slamming a fist down on the table. The flat wear clattering together. 

“Stanley…” Mrs. Pines tried to intervene. Filbrick’s attention was set on Stanley. 

“Can’t you just say you’re proud of him? He’s happy, she’s happy, they make each other happy. Why do you ALWAYS have to be like this?!” Stanley stood up from his chair, making a skin crawling screeching sound as it slid across the floor. 

“How dare you speak to me with such disrespect. Thanks to me, you’re back in this house right now.” his voice sounded harsh and uncaring “so if you used your brain for once and knew what was good for you, you’d stand down.” 

You heard Stanley’s heavy breathing before he grabbed the chair and sat back down. 

The air stilled with silence, and you just felt your heart was pounding hard in your chest. How can something go back to normal after a conversation like that? The only person who was still eating was Mr. Pines, while everyone else was just pushing their food across their plates. You could swear you felt Filbrick’s eyes on you as you tried to ignore him. You felt Stanford’s thumb going back and forth on the top of your hand as you both sat there in silence. At this point you just wanted to go home. 

Suddenly, the screeching of the chair on the ground alerted everyone that Mr. Pines was done eating. He offered a small nod to his wife, then he left. Once he was gone the tension around the table relaxed slightly, and you and Ford let go of the other’s hand.

After their father had left, their mom tried lightening the conversation, she asked how everyone’s day at school was, and if we had any fun dreams. Odd. you wondered how she can just act like what just happened didn’t happen… maybe she’s scared of him too..

After dinner, you were relieved when Stan came to you “want a ride home?”

“Yeah… I’d like that…” however, what was more surprising is that Stanley soon grabbed a bag together for him and Ford 

“We’re ready to go” 

“You guys are staying at my house?” you asked, slightly confused. 

“Is that okay?” Stanley asked, a brow raised. 

“It’s fine” you respond to Stanley, you can tell something is bothering him but maybe it’s best to not bring it up now. After assessing Stan, you turn to Ford, he looks uneasy “are you okay…?” 

“Yeah I’m fine...I’m sorry...we should have asked you first…” he looked down at his cast. 

“No darling, don’t worry about it, I love having you guys over...did you tell your mom?” You asked while glancing over to the kitchen.

“I did” Ford says, offering a small smile, his brown eyes looking at you softly. 

“Alright then let’s go..should I say goodbye to-”

“Pa’s asleep” Stanley interrupts “Ma’s in the kitchen… you can say bye to our ma” Stanley says before he starts to walk out to the door “I’ll start up the car” 

As you walk to the kitchen, Ford follows close behind you, Mrs. Pines turned at hearing you approach “oh my dear, it was so nice to meet you” she takes one of your hands into both of hers “I hope to see you again” she says, tapping the top of your hand with hers. 

“Likewise” 

The twins actually told their mom that they were dropping you off then staying at a friends house, which was surprising to Mrs. Pines since she didn’t think they had many friends, but she was glad enough to let them go on a school night. 

~~~~~~~~~~

It was already late in the night by the time you got home, so the three of you promptly got dressed and ready for bed. 

Before you could walk into your room you feel a hand grab you by the arm..  
“Wait” 

You turn to see Stanley behind you, recoiling his hand back to his torso.  
“I wanted to say sorry…” 

“What for?” 

“That um..you had to sit through that at dinner… it probably wasn’t a.. a good first dinner with our parents….” his arms tighten around his torso, before you can respond he continues “he’s like that...all the time… if one of us does something out of usual he really doubts it… if I get a good grade or… now with Sixer getting a girlfriend…” he pauses and gestures his hand to you “he thinks we’re fucking with him… I just...I hope that didn’t make you rethink your relationship with Stanford… we’re not like him…” in the end he looked down at his hand, a bruise hand mark had formed on his wrist. 

“Stanley… I know you guys aren’t like your dad… I still really like Stanford. And… if I’m being honest… I already didn’t like your dad before I even met him.” After saying this to him you offer a smile, his expression relaxed.  
“You’re a good brother, Stanley” you say with a small pat on his shoulder. He smiles softly for a second, like he doesn’t fully believe you, but then his smile widens.

“Thanks and you're a good…” he paused for a moment, trying to say it correctly “girlfriend for my brother” he smiles brightly. 

“Thanks Stan, good night” 

“Good night” 

~~~~~~~~~~

~~ you were walking on the beach with Ford… then quickly he was yanked away from you...you turn around and he’s gone...no one’s around… suddenly your feet are pulled out from under you...you feel like you’re being carried… where are they taking you?....you were thrown in a small room… you feel someone else be thrown onto you… then the room lights up...its the inside of a lifeguard tower...the person they threw on you is Ford...he’s covered in blood... you try shaking him but he’s not moving… you check his pulse but theres nothing...is...is he dead? No no no… the door opens up, and it’s the guys from the beach with the guys who beat up Stanford… no this isn’t right…. “You want to be with a real man? The freak is gone, no one to save you”.~~ 

You wake up in a panic, you feel like your heart is racing a thousand miles per hour. You’re home, in bed, you’re safe… 

You try to lay back down, but no matter how hard you try you can’t fall back asleep. A thought pops in your head and you assess your options. It’s one in the morning. Looking down at your clothes, you note that you’re wearing pajama pants and long sleeves, it’ll have to do. 

You slowly make your way out of your room and quietly knock on one of your guest rooms, and the door soon opens. Ford looks at you with sleepy eyes, his glasses sitting far behind him on the desk. He looks confused.  
“Is everything alright?” He asks you, his low voice sounding husky from his slumber. 

“I uh…” you shyly look away “had a bad nightmare…” your arms slinking their way around your body. 

“Oh..” he doesn’t know what to say. 

“Can I sleep in here….with you?” You ask, finally looking up at him. He’s suddenly more awake, his eyes wide and his cheeks rosy. 

“I-in bed with me?”

“If that’s okay… I just...want your comfort…” you say nervously, rubbing your forearm against your body. 

“Y-yeah, okay” the idea filled him with joy, maybe a little too excited, he honestly had no idea how to act in the moment. You walk in and the door is closed behind you.

You suggest he lays on the right side of the bed so his arm is against the wall, and he promptly follows your suggestion. He lays down on his back, his knees up in the air to avoid any awkward conversations due to his...excitement. You shut off the lamp before you lay down in bed with him, and curl up on his side, covering the two of you in the comforter, resting a leg up on his, and your head resting on his chest. His heart rate is very fast.  
“Are you okay…?” you ask quietly.  
His hovering hand slowly lowering down to hold you.  
“I’m okay… a bit nervous...If I’m being honest…” 

“I’m sorry...do you want me to go…” you say, slowly lifting your head from his chest, but his hand stays on your upper back. 

“no...I’m glad I can help you feel better…” he gives you a small squeeze, gently pressing you to his body. 

You lift your head up and look up at his face, he leans his head down to look at you, his brown eyes glistening from the moonlight shining through the window. His gaze is sweet and gentle, it fills you with comfort. You lift yourself up slightly and press a kiss on his cheek. He looks at you affectionately, and gently shifts his body so that he was laying on his left side, his cast gently resting on the top of his body. In the new position, when he tightens his hand on you pulling you close, a small head shift is all it takes for his lips to press onto yours. Your left knee pressed inside of his legs as you lay there kissing him. Your left hand comes up and you gently press your palm onto his jaw, your fingertips pushing past his hairline. 

You slowly pull away, and bury your face in the crook of his neck, and he rests his chin on the top of your head. It doesn’t take long for you to fall asleep soon after that. 

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

However for Stanford, it took him forever to fall back asleep after that. His mind was a cacophony of thoughts

‘did that just happen? Is this a dream? If it is, holy shit, pretty good dream. Would she want to sleep in bed with me again? What does this mean? I hope she didn’t notice that I got a little too excited. Fuck did she notice? Fuck. I hope she’s not upset. I wonder what her dream was about, hope she doesn’t have another nightmare. Did I finish my chemistry homework? I really like her. If this continues to work out… I could totally marry her. She’s perfect. The girl of my dreams. How did I not meet her before? I wish my arm wasn’t broken then I could hold her better. Is the door locked? I hope Stanley doesn't come in…’ 

and then he was asleep, holding the girl of his dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed <3 
> 
> (idk if you can tell, but we hate Filbrick Pines)


	5. "Hot Pants"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning-  
> Hints of child abuse
> 
> (Fuck you, Filbrick Pines)

You weren’t sure what woke you up this early, but from what you could tell, it was too early to get up and get ready for school. Even if it was only ten minutes before the alarm went off, you appreciated those extra ten minutes. The sun had already dimly lit your entire room, there was no escaping the new day. 

You feel warmth snug against you back as you lay on your side, and realize you rolled over in your sleep and Ford was spooning against you. His left arm was under your body, curled around your waist. You let out a yawn and stretch out your legs, then curl your legs so you fit perfectly against Ford. Your movements cause Ford to start shifting in his sleep and gently pull your hips against his, and his face pressing up against your hair. 

“Ford...are you awake?” you ask quietly, feeling something gently poke against you. You hear a long inhale then more movement, his face moving away from your hair.  
“Y-yeah?” his low voice groggy and hardly a mumble.

“I’m going to...get up and shower…I feel like I look... gross” you say as you roll over to face him, his eyes are slightly puffy and his eyelids are hooded. 

“Alright... well to me…” he says with a soft gentle smile “you look...very blurry” he says with a smile and tired huff of a laugh. 

“Oh yeah? Want me to get closer?”you say as you lean closer, your nose gently gracing against his, he leans in and presses his forehead against yours then lets out a joyous, yet tired, laugh 

“Well now you just look like an extremely blurry... beautiful cyclops” he hoped this comment wouldn’t make you upset with him, but he did want to test the waters eventually. He can’t imagine this relationship working out all too well if you couldn’t also be friends and laugh together. At least that’s how he always imagined relationships working out, and according to some calculations he wrote, people who are friends and in a relationship tend to last longer than people together who don’t try to be friends. 

You let out a giggle, his smile brightens. Success. 

“Would you still want me as a cyclops?” you say as you place a hand on his cheek, a small amount of stubble making its way through his skin. 

He let out a mock hum “well of course, but would you still want ME as a cyclops?” he says, a smile pushing his cheeks up under his eyes. 

You whisper “you tell me” before pressing your lips onto his, his arm that's resting under you pulls you in to him more. He wouldn’t have woken up so happy and confident if he hadn't woken up with you still in bed with him, if you were gone, he would have believed it was all just a dream. The way he was kissing you and the way he was pulling you into him, causing you to let out a deep sigh, your hand gently sliding up and caressing his hair. Sadly, the alarm clock startles you away from each other.  
“Now I'm really gonna go” you say with a smile, then you get up out of bed, offering a small smile as you leave the room. 

However, as soon as you hit the hallway you are met with the startled gaze of Stanley, who had just barely woken up.  
“uh..Good morning Stanley?” you say awkwardly 

“Mornin…” his low voice mumbles back, his eyes squinting at you in suspicion. His look only encourages you to get to the bathroom before he could ask any questions. 

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Ford was still laying in bed, he had already turned off the alarm clock and had just started to put on his glasses when his bedroom door was swung open. 

“Stanford Filbrick Pines” Stan says with his brows furrowed as he walks over to Ford. Who was starting to use the blanket to cover the bottom half of his face. “What happened?” Stan says this in the most serious tone, except the surprised, yet devilish smile was somewhat alarming. 

“It’s not what it looks like” Ford meeked out from behind his blanket. 

“Oh yeah? So you two didn’t sleep together?” Stan says as he crossing his arms over his chest. 

“W-well we did…” Ford looks at his brothers alarmed back “sleep. We literally only slept. Like sleep. Unconscious. Asleep…” Ford lowers the blanket to show he was in fact still dressed. “Sleeping.” he went a little overboard with that horrible explanation. 

“Ohokay… okay...cool…” Stan says while sitting down on the foot of Ford’s bed. “You remember what I said before about the whole..protection thing, right?”

“Of course Stanley, I have impeccable memory” Ford manages to say as seriously as he could, despite his face feeling flushed. 

“Good. well...I already showered so I’ll see what I can whip together for breakfast.” Stan then made his way out of the room without another word. He had actually woken up rather early in hopes of hyping himself up to open up to Ford. however, seeing how his brother was acting and how he spent the night in the same room, he just...didn’t want to fuck up his brother’s happiness..or worse, Ford’s too happy to care about him and his feelings at all... 

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

After showering and putting on pants and a long sleeve turtleneck sweater, you felt ready for the day. As you make your way down the stairs, you hear the shower running for Stanford, and you see Stan’s back is facing you as he’s cooking at the stove. 

“Stanley you didn’t have to worry about cooking breakfast” you say as you walk up next to him, when you glance down at the pan you notice he has a bandage wrapped around his left wrist. The same wrist that you noticed was bruised yesterday. 

“Eh. There’s nothing better for me to do...might as well make use of myself.” He mumbles quietly, mainly to himself. 

“Don’t say that” you say harshly. 

He turns to you, his expression serious “do you care about me?” 

“Well of course I care about you Stanley” you say defensively staring him straight in his brown eyes, then you glance back down, your tone softens “...what did your dad do to you last night?” 

He doesn’t flinch or even change his expression, he just stares down at the pancake that was cooking “he told me I should be grateful…” he flipps a pancake then continues “that if I keep fucking up...he won’t care what happens to me” his glares down at the stove, then using the spatula he scoops up the pancake and lifts a plate and plops it down. He hands it to you with a “and he’s right...I should be grateful…. I deserve the punishments the world gives me.” not meeting your eyes.

You take the plate and place it on the counter before wrapping your arms around him, causing him to gasp in surprise. “You’re dad is shit, Stan. You deserve great things” you mumble into him as you squeeze him as tight as you can. In a moment like this, Stan wishes he didn’t encourage his brother to ask you out...even Carla wasn’t this understanding. Once you pull away and he gets back to pouring more batter onto the pan he says “Ford’s a lucky guy”. 

Before you could respond to that you hear footsteps going down the stairs  
“Good morning...smells good, what are you making?” he askes as he made his way to the kitchen. 

“Oh he’s making Stan cakes…” once you say, a shocked expression spreads across your face “I mean Pancakes” 

Ford looks at you curiously, a slight amused smile on his face. 

“Stan cakes...mm..I like it” Stan says, boasting a big smile, seeming genuine enough that you almost forgot how sad he really was. 

~~~~~~

At lunch time, it was hard to ignore the whispers you can hear as you walk over to an empty table outside, shade provided by some trees, but it was easy to notice people glancing over and avoiding the area. After the incident with the principal, the whole school found out that you and Stanford were in a relationship, so it’s not like you had time to prepare for this. 

“You hear she’s dating the freak?” 

“She could seriously do better than that”

“You think she’d dump the nerd if I asked her out?”  
“Ew and get his cooties from her?”

“She could have picked Stan, at least he’s trying to not be a total loser” 

“What a loser” 

“Freak lover” 

You start to regret waiting by yourself when suddenly a girl sits across the table from you. Her hair is brown and wavy with a flower pushed into it, and she has faint freckles scattered across her nasal bridge. Her light brown eyes examine you , making you feel slightly uncomfortable. 

“Uh.. Hi…?” you start nervously. 

“You’re the one dating Stanford Pines, right?” she says while pulling out a lunch from her bag. 

“I am…” you respond, your voice shaking, your brain telling you to panic and run away. 

“Oh! Good! God, I was hoping I didn’t sit down at the wrong table, Stanley asked me to join you guys for lunch, he said I should find you here since he said Stanford told you to meet him here, I’m Carla” she says with a smile, holding out her hand. You take it and shake her hand, you shyly introduce yourself. You remember her name from something Stan had told you. 

“So! How is it? dating the nerdy twin” She asks, her tone seeming condescending.

“It’s um…” her gaze on your is making you nervous “he makes me happy” your cheeks turn pink at your own words. Part of you is getting frustrated with her tone regarding Ford, why is she talking to you like this?

“Oh okay okay…” her tone is somewhat serious “so you’ve never like...done anything with Stanley have you? He told me he’s been staying at your house.” her looking into your eyes like this could freeze blood, but all it did was irritate you. 

“No, Never” you say a little too loud, your voice sounding firm, to her surprised look you elaborate “I just thought I’d offer him to stay since otherwise he’d sleep in his car.”

“Well, in that case that’s great, very kind of you” your gaze softens but she seems...intimidated by you. 

“Greetings, my Dear” you hear Ford say happily as he approaches the table, wrapping an arm around your waist as he sits down next to you. Ford has more confidence in your relationship after sleeping in the same bed, and you laughing at a cyclops joke, this all feels too good to be true for him. Stan also gave him a pep talk consisting of ‘she really likes you, go for it, hold her hand, hold your arm around her, no really Stanford, seriously, she likes you’ before the two of them met you for lunch. 

“Hello... Stanford?” you say awkwardly, you weren’t really ready for that much confidence coming from him. 

His smile slightly drops “s-sorry” and he starts removing his arm from around your waist but you move quickly enough to stop him, taking hold of his hand. 

“It’s fine, Stanford, It was just surprising, that’s all” you say, offering a reassuring smile. He smiles softly at you, his warm brown eyes looking at you with endearment. His arm around you tightens and pulls you in gently. 

“Hey Lee,” Carla calls out to the other twin. “So I was thinking about what you said...and Yes”  
Stan’s eyebrows raise “yes? Really?” a smile starts tugging at his cheeks. 

“Yeah, but we can’t come to my parents house anymore” she adds, a soft blush spreading across her cheeks. Stanley practically ran to Carla, wrapping his arms around her waist, and picking her up from her seat. 

“Oh I missed you so much, baby girl” Stan says with a wide smile on his face before pulling her in for a deep kiss. You and Ford avert your gaze from them and then turn to each other. 

“It’s nice seeing Stan so happy” Ford says quietly to you, you smile sweetly to him “yeah… me too”. You weren’t sure if Stan had opened up yet to Ford, but after knowing how Stan felt, it really was great seeing him like this. 

~~~

For some reason, you agreed to let Carla come to your house so that she could spend more time with Stanley. You’re fine with them staying downstairs and watching the television, but refusing them the chance to go upstairs together is the only comfort you had. You know why they broke up, and they just got back together, you don’t want that in your spare bedroom. Especially not with you and Stanford here, especially since the two of you haven’t even…

“Are you okay?” Ford asked, causing your attention to snap onto him. 

You realize you’ve just been zoning out, staring at the stairs  
“Oh um yeah… sorry...just thinking.” 

“Did you need any help with the chemical equation?” he asks curiously, trying to figure out what it was that had you so lost in thought. 

“What?” you ask him before looking back down at the page “oh… no I’m good. Thank you” 

Stanford had already finished his chemistry homework while your mind was elsewhere, now he was just getting started on his calculus assignments. You quickly finish up with your chemistry homework then look up at Ford as he focuses. His elbow rests on the tabletop as his fingers push past his hairline into his bushy brown hair, and his glasses gently make their way to the end of his nose as he leans over the page. You see glints of his eyes through his glasses, but the light from the ceiling is reflecting back into your face. 

Maybe he was already going to look up at you, or he just felt you look at him, but he straightens his back and looks up at you “what?” he says with a small nervous chuckle. 

“Nothing” you say with a smile on your lips, your eyes glance down at his homework, his cursive handwriting is accompanied by numbers and mathematical equations, however there’s a loose paper shoved under his work.  
“Doodles?” you question, and at your words his face slightly reddens.

“It’s nothing really…” he whispers back bashfully. 

“Can I see?” you ask gently, a brow rose at his response. 

“Well… you see… it’s um… you….” he says, looking down at the paper and gently sliding it out from under his worksheet. The drawing isn’t what you expected at all, you suspected a doodle, or something, but not an extremely detailed portrait of yourself. 

“Stanford…” was all you could manage out. You had only guessed Stanley drew pictures but this… “this is amazing…” you just sit here, looking at this drawing he’s done of you. “Just...wow…” you finally look up at him and see that his face is red. 

“Thanks…” he says, glancing away. You take this chance to reach over and place a hand on his left hand. He drops his pencil in response and looks up at you. 

“You’re amazing” you reassure him, looking deeply into his eyes. 

“Surely, I’m inadequate compared to you,” he says, shifting his palm up to hold your hand back. The sweet look in his eyes and the pinkness in his cheeks causes your stomach to flutter. 

“O-okay…” is all that you can manage to say as you feel your face flush. The sweet smile that grows on his face after he sees your reaction, only causes your face to redden more. Mr. ‘I-don’t-know-to-talk-to-girls’ is doing a pretty good job once he knows that a girl actually likes him. However, considering you are the first girl to like him, he’s hoping that he’s doing everything correctly. 

To break up a tender moment, your telephone rings across the room, and fearing it is your parents, you briskly make your way over to it. 

“Hello?” 

“Hello, this is Conrad McCorkle, my daughter said she would be studying with a fellow student, are you her?” 

“Yes” you tell him your full name, and turn around putting your index finger over your mouth to silence Stanley, who had been talking to Carla. 

“Good. Good. I was afraid she had been lying to us to go see that Pines kid. Could you tell me your address, we need to pick up Carla for dinner.” 

After telling him your address, he thanks you and hangs up. However, as soon as he hang up, you quickly turn around panicked. 

“Stanley, you need to move your car.” you say quickly. “Carla’s parents are on her way over, and your red diablo is a dead give away that you’re here.” 

He snaps a finger gun at you, and gets up from the couch, and quickly pecks a kiss onto Carla’s cheek “Sixer, are you coming? We should probably get home since ma asked us to be home for dinner tonight” 

“Oh...right” Ford says, pulling together his books and paperwork. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow?” he asks you sadly. 

“Of course, Stanford” you say, smiling sweetly to him, before he turns back down, shoving all of his belongings into his bookbag. Stanley leaves the door open as he walks out, and you wait by the door for a last goodbye for Ford. 

As he reaches the door, he takes hold of your hand and gently kisses the top of your hand, following it with his gentle words “till we meet again”. The breath of his words, tickling the dorsal skin of your hand, and his brown eyes peeking over his glasses as he looks up at your eyes. Despite how attractive that just was, you know he can hardly see your face without his glasses over his eyes. You then pull his chin up so you can give him a kiss on his cheek, that charisma vanishing as his cheeks redden and a wide giddy smile spreads across his face. 

As he runs to the car, you notice Stanley is wearing glasses… Does he always need glasses? Has he just been recklessly driving every time he’s driven you around? You’ll have to ask him about that later. 

“You guys are cute” Carla says to you, her tone sounding genuine.

“Thanks?” 

“I was honestly... very surprised when Lee told me that Stanford got a girlfriend… it’s nice to know he’s found someone” She says, offering you a kind smile. 

“Yeah, he makes me really happy” you say, a faint blush spreading across your nasal ridge. 

“I know I don’t have much time today, but we should hang out sometime, maybe have a sleepover Friday night?” She asks with a bright yet slightly mischievous smile. 

“A sleepover? I mean… I have no problem with it” you say with a shrug

“What about your parents?” She asks, glancing around the house. 

“They won’t be home” you say with a curious brow.

“OH! So can I bring booze?” She asks excitedly, grabbing you by the shoulders and practically bouncing on her toes. 

“Uh…” but before you can give an answer, a car drives up in front of your house and starts honking.

“That’s my folks, so, let me know?” She says with a toothy smile, taking the flower out of her hair and sticking it behind your ear, “See you at school”. 

“See you at school…” you say with a wave goodbye. 

After walking back into the house and locking the door, you head back to the table to finish your homework. When you get there you notice Ford left his drawing of you, with a small note written on the bottom. 

“The most beautiful sight I have ever seen”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Carla "Hot-Pants" McCorkle


	6. Brugmansia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can't help but be concerned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning.   
> BRIEF talk of  
> non-consenting/intoxicated sex. 
> 
> Tomato Pie is Pizza, that's just what they called it way back when.

“Hello, my dear, are you ready for school?” 

Stan and Ford have been picking you up for school every morning, it’s not like you couldn’t drive or walk by yourself, but just because they liked to see you. So waking up the last school day of the week to see that Stanford is smiling sweetly at you, a white button up collar peeking out of his navy blue sweater. It all was starting to feel more realistic.

“Ye-” you pause in the middle of your words and glare at your boyfriend “why do you smell like cigarettes?” 

His brows rose and his hands came up in defense “it wasn’t me” he slightly glanced over his shoulder “you can smell my entire face, I wasn’t smoking, I swear” 

You lean up to his face, slightly smell him, and all you smell is his aftershave. Since you’re so close already, you kiss his cheek, his sweet brown eyes looking at you like he’s the happiest man alive. 

“Okay… so why is Stanley smoking again?” you ask, glancing over to Stanley sitting in the car. He had told you that he hadn’t smoked in a few weeks, and he was happy about quitting. Ford’s expression drops in thought.

“I’m not sure… something about it affecting the way he looks when he does it.” Stanford says, his brows furrowing.

“That sounds ridiculous” you mumble, wondering if this has anything to do with Carla...Or maybe their father did something to him again. You glance back over to the car to see he’s not wearing glasses. You tolerated him not wearing glasses while driving for too long, while making sure to sit in the back seat each time, but you don’t think you can tolerate his recklessness much longer. 

“I know...I tried to stop him, but he just ignored me.” He says, sucking in the right side of his cheek “like he literally just...left the house when I tried to talk to him…”. With that you hum a small response. 

“I’ll talk to him…” you say softly, taking hold of his left hand and following him outside, locking the door before you head to the car. 

Ford holds the passenger seat door open for you while you get in, gently closing it, then sitting in the back seat before Stan starts the car. However, as soon as you’re in the car, you search the glove compartment, finding a thick rimmed pair of glasses, different from Stanford’s. 

“Here, put these on” you say casually, handing Stanley the pair, a look of frustration obvious in your eyes. 

“What are you talking about? Those are Ford’s.” he said, avoiding your firm gaze. 

“Stanley.” You say firmly, then placing the glasses on his face, gently resting on the bridge of his nose. “I’m not judging you. I want you to drive safely. If it makes you feel better, I don’t have to look at you the whole time you’re driving” You say, crossing your arms, and turning to the window. He makes a small grumble to himself, but he doesn’t remove them, he just starts the drive to school. You want to ask about the smoking, and the fact that the car smells like cigarettes, but one thing at a time. The glasses problem can directly affect you, Ford, and even pedestrians. As soon as he parks his car, the glasses get shoved back into the glove compartment. 

“You happy?” he asks, his tone harsh, but your smile and nod only cause him to let out a sigh. He wants to at least act like he isn’t completely open with you with Ford around, but it just makes you wonder why he doesn’t want his brother to know you’re close. Hm. 

~~~~~~~~

After school you manage to meet up with Stanley before Carla or Ford come. She convinced you at lunch time to let the twins come over to spend the night at your house. You’re hoping that they don’t do anything too sexual while at your house. You told her that if the twins come, that you don’t want there to be any drinking, she reluctantly agreed but you have a feeling she’s lying...

“Stanley?” you call out as he waits outside of Ford’s classroom. He hums a response and turns to you, his expression looks extremely tired. “Are you...okay?” you ask, looking into his brown eyes.

“Sure, Carla and I are back together, why wouldn’t I be?” he asks, but his happy expression doesn’t seem too genuine. 

“Stan….you know you can be honest with me. You started smoking again, I just want to make sure you’re okay” you place a hand on his shoulder, “please..” 

His expression turns soft as he looks into your eyes “can I tell you later?” he asks quietly. You nod slightly and remove your hand from his shoulder before Ford walks out of his last class. 

“You ready to go, Poindexter?” Stanley asks, a bright smile on his face. He is...very good at lying. 

Ford smiles at his brother, then turns to you, smiling gently “yeah, I’m ready”, his low voice sounds so gentle… you swear your heart skips a beat. 

The three of you walk to the car and find Carla there, leaning against the El Diablo. She smiled brightly at Stanley, kissing him on the cheek as Ford and you get in the back seat. Once the both of you buckled up you reach your right hand over so that Ford would take the hint and hold your hand. His hand gently reaches his left hand out and entangles his fingers with yours. 

Despite the comfort of Ford, the whole car ride was silent and uncomfortable. Normally you and the twins would talk and joke about your day, but with Carla here, all of you felt like you wouldn’t speak a word. 

Once you got to the house, Ford and You set up at the table to work on homework, while Stan and Carla sat on the couch and watched the television.

You feel nervous...why do you feel nervous? Well, mainly because Carla is spending the night and you aren’t the most comfortable with her. You know Stan and her had to break up from getting caught getting physical, but you needed to have them there to help you deal with her. She hasn’t given you any reason to hate her, but you weren’t too sure if you liked her at all… All of this thinking is… distracting you. 

“Hey…” Ford says, reaching over the table to stop your hand, that had been absentmindedly tapping your pencil on the table. “Are you doing okay?” he asks quietly, his brown eyes looking at you, deep with concern. 

“Y-yeah..just… I don’t know…” you let out a sigh “I just can’t really focus right now…” you admit. 

His brows scrunch in the middle with sympathy before offering  
“We can stop for today? Technically we have all weekend to get it done”. 

“You’re joking right?” You ask, an amused smile on your face, when he shakes his head, you continue “you, Stanford Filbrick Pines, you’re going to set aside homework… for me?” 

He smiled at your amusement “well sure” he paused and tapped the top of your hand, then pulled his hand back so he could pick up his sprawled out assignments. His cheeks slightly turned pink “well…I’ll probably get them done tomorrow” he admitted. 

You let out a small laugh “that’s okay, Stanford” you say, offering a reassuring smile, clearing off the table “tomorrow then” you agree.Your attention turns over to Stan and Carla on the couch “hey, are you guys hungry?

“Yeah, but Lee said he could drive over and get us a pie?” Carla said, standing up along with Stanley. 

“I mean I can make something-” 

“No, it’s okay, Lee and I can go,” she interrupted, walking out the door, pulling Stanley behind her, his expression looked tired. Too tired…

As soon as the door closed you let out a sigh, then turned to Ford, a soft smile gracing you face before you turned and walked away from the table. Ford’s eyes followed you until you stopped at a cabinet and pulled out a box. 

“Hey, what are you doing?” he asked curiously as he followed and stood behind you. 

“Picking out some music” you say simply, as you shuffle through your records “How do you feel about Vera Lynn?” you ask, placing the record on the player. 

“Can’t say I’ve heard of her” he says awkwardly before you take his left hand in yours, placing it on your waist, while his right rests between you in his cast. His cheeks reddened as you placed your hands on his shoulders and started swaying. Before he could ask anything, the music started up on the record. 

~ We’ll meet again ~ don’t know where ~ don’t know when ~  
~ but I know we’ll meet again some sunny day ~  
~ Keep smiling through ~ just like you always do ~   
~ Till the blue skies drive the dark clouds far away ~ 

Ford smiles at you as you continue to dance, he gets a bit more confidence, and takes your hand to twirl you around before coming back into his embrace. You smile at him as he gently places a kiss on your forehead, and you start to sway again. 

~ So will you please say hello ~ to the folks that I know ~  
~ tell them I won’t be long ~  
~they’ll be happy to know ~ that as you saw me go ~   
~ I was singing this song ~ 

“So where did you learn to dance?” you ask sweetly, looking into his eyes through his glasses. 

He lets out an awkward laugh, slightly glancing behind you “I’m just taking some educated guesses…” he looks back into your eyes, both of you swaying as the song continues “Stanley and I had to learn to dance for our Bar Mitzvah but uh… the dancing wasn’t like this” the red dusting on his cheeks spread back to his ears.

You smile and give him a small kiss on the cheek “how’d you party go, though? I don’t I’ve ever been obligated to dance for any of my birthdays” you admit. The song on the record player ends, prompting you to gently pull Ford to sit on the couch with you.

“Well…” he hesitated “it was awkward? I mean there was a part where they picked Stanley and I up in chairs… like… what if the chair brakes or someone’s hand slips???” his expression slightly frazzled “I mean y’know tradition and stuff… Stan didn’t care much though, he wore these... Groucho Marx glasses for a majority of the party, our dad was furious” Ford let out a small chuckle “but his argument was that Groucho Marx is Jewish, so therefore, he showed up ~extra Jewish~” 

“Y’know, I didn’t take you as a religious kind of guy” You say, raising a brow at him. 

“I’m not” he admitted “well, ‘we’ aren't, Stan’s not either, but we still do things like Hanukkah and such, but that’s mostly for our parents.” 

You hum thoughtfully as you lean your lead on Ford’s left shoulder, as he lifts his arm to drape it over your shoulders, “ that’s understandable…” you say softly. He turns his head to look at you, his eyes look like a warm caramel in the lighting, you swear you could just melt in them. You start to lean up, as he leans down towards you, your lips meeting for a gentle impact. Your eyes drift close as you sigh into the kiss. Your left hand comes up to hold his cheek as both of you deepen the kiss. 

But of course, you can’t have this moment too long, since you hear your front door start to open. Prompting you to jump up off of the couch, and squat over by the television, acting like you’re changing the channel. You notice from the corner of your eye that Ford adjusts his seating position and crosses his legs. 

“Hey Love birds, did you have fun while we were gone?” Carla teasingly asks. 

“No” you blurt out, but once you realize your voice coming out too high, you attempt to recover “no, we were just hanging out, I’m just trying to figure out something to watch” 

“Mmhmm sure” she said with a smile as she led Stan to the kitchen, he was holding a short but wide square box. “Well, anyway, Lee got us a tomato pie from Nino’s” 

You and Ford exchange looks for a moment before looking over to Carla. The two of you joined them at the table soon after turning off the television. 

Despite the previous awkward atmosphere, things lightened up once you all ate dinner. Stan was smiling again, cracking a joke that made the rest of the table laugh or choke on their food. 

Soon after finishing up, and clearing off the table, Carla walks off and starts to dig through her book bag. “I almost forgot, I brought some gin” she says brightly as she turns around, holding a large bottle. 

“W-what?” You ask, turning towards you “Carla, I asked you to not bring alcohol here” you hiss out at her. 

“But listen,” she starts “it’ll be a lot of fun” she holds it out like it being ‘fun’ is a good excuse. 

“Carla, baby, I don’t know if that’s the best idea..” Stanley tries to say, but she places her hand on his chest and continues. 

“C’mon guys, don’t be such squares! We can make a game out of it. Me and Lee, versus the two of you. Whichever team drinks the least, has to do a dare the other one says” 

You and Ford exchange looks, maybe they could use this to dare Stan to stop smoking.   
“So the other…” Ford starts “has to do whatever the dare is?” 

“Yep!” she says excitedly. 

“Uh...fine, but no vomiting on my floor... “ you say, finally agreeing. 

~~~~ 

“C’mOn, GuYs! We’Re tiEd! I knOw i cOuLd drInk MoRe! sO?” Carla asks, her hand slightly swaying as she holds the bottle out for your glasses. 

The four of you had been sitting on the ground together, things got funnier and funnier the more you drank. There was some point where Stan took a drink and then laid down on the ground, falling asleep, but you can’t think of when that actually happened. 

You take the bottle and sway as you hold it over your glass. “No… I cAn’t…” you turn your head to Ford who just shakes his head, rubbing at his eyes under his glasses. 

Carla shrugs and pours herself some, drinks it, and slams it down back on the ground. “HA” she explains, a devilish smile on her face “ SoOoooOOooo FOr mY dArE fOR Yoooou guYs, wEee nEed tO gO uP-” she was interrupted by her own hiccup “up thE sTaiRs” 

“oKAy?” you say before both of you struggle to even stand up from your spot. 

It takes way too long to get up the stairs, but somehow you all manage without any of you tripping and falling down the stairs. There WAS tripping, however, every time either you or Ford tripped, you’d help the other out. While Carla was behind you… you weren’t too sure if she tripped at all.

Once you reached upstairs, Carla shoved both you and Ford into the first bedroom, which was the one that Ford was going to sleep in. She then shoved both of you onto the bed to sit down.

“SO! mY dArE foR yOu tWo is to…” she paused for effect, but all she looked like you were looking at her through ripples in water, your head is pounding… “tO hAvE seX” 

Both you and Ford’s eyes widen in disbelief at her so-called ‘dare’. 

“WhAT?!” was all Ford could manage out, his expression was some mixture of disbelief, confusion, and rage. 

At least that’s what it looks like, because you knew for sure how you felt about it. “Y-yOu cAn’T DarE sOmEThiNg LikE tHaT, CaRlA” you say, practically growling at her. 

“wELL wE diD sAy tHat ThE dArE coUlD bE aNyThing”

“bUt SeX?” you ask, completely baffled at her thought process. Is there even a thought process? 

“wEll yOu TwO oBvIouSly HavEn’T lOsT yOUr CHerRies Yet, Nd StAn waS hEsiTant aT fIrSt tOO bUt aFteR eNouGh DriNks hE gAvE iN” she says, acting like it’s no big deal. 

‘He gave in?’ you think. 

With all your determination you stand up from the bed, walk up to her, and without thinking... your hand comes speeding towards her face, causing a loud

SMACK

“wHAT tHe HELL wAs ThAt fOr?” she asks, her hand holding her cheek.

“I dOn’t kNow” you lie, your opposite hand coming to rub your throbbing hand...how hard did you hit her? 

She stands there silently, rubbing her cheek before talking again “wEll, dO tHe DaRe… I’m GoiNg to sLeep” 

“Will dO…” you say, pointing down the hall for her to go into the bedroom that Stan stayed in the previous week. She shuffles her feet to the bedroom, and once she closes the door to the bedroom you let out a heavy sigh. 

“wE...aReN’t… rIgHt…?” you hear Ford mumble out from behind you, you turn your head and look him in the eyes to the best of your ability and shake your head. 

“no...wE aRen’t rEady for sOmeThing likE thAt….” you say quietly “aNd we dRank toO mUch…” you look back out the door and down the hall “yOu cAn go tO sleEp… I’ll geT StaN…” 

As hard as going up and down the stairs were, you had this weird gut feeling that you just shouldn’t leave Stanley downstairs. You make your way down slowly, but still manage to trip down the last to steps. 

“Hey!” you whisper shout out to Stanley. No response, you make your way over and shake him awake, he blinks a few dozen times before realizing who was waking him up. 

“who wOn…?” he asks softly, his words hushed. 

“me.” you respond quietly, matching his whispers. You tug him to get him to stand up, and after a few tries he finally helps you get him to his feet. You start to gently shove him up the stairs, but once his feet touch the steps, you realize the fact that if he falls back, you’re dead. 

“Oh yeAh? whatCha daRe?” he asks, his expression extremely tired. 

You stay quiet for a few moments till you get to the top of the stairs “it wAs fOr yOu to aNSwer a qUestiOn… HonEstly.” you say softly, pushing him down the hall and into your master bedroom. 

“Kay?” he asks, already crawling up to the bed, resting his head onto the pillow. He closes his eyes for a few seconds before opening one, raising an eye at you for you to ask. 

“dO…” you are asking from a place of caring, you aren’t just trying to bud into his love life but so far...it doesn’t seem healthy “ do yOu lOve cArla?” 

He shifts his head so that you could see both eyes “well, sUre?” he responds slightly confused. 

“buT… wHy…? aRe yOu eveN hAppy?”

“sHe’s hAppY…” he responds quietly “ n’ sHe mAkes mE feEl… liKe i’m gOod foR sOmethIng…” he drifts off in his words as you watch him close both of his eyes. You look softly at his sleeping form before you walk out of the room. Locking and closing it as you leave. 

You shuffle your feet on the way to the bedroom Ford is sleeping in, the floor looks like it is moving beneath each step. Once you enter the room, you lock the door and lay down in the bed next to Ford, pulling the covers over both of your bodies. He shifts in the bed slightly to lay on his back next to you, and you crawl over him so that you’re on his left side. 

He blinks at you as you remove his glasses, placing them on the nightstand. “How’s stAn…?” he asks quietly into your ear. You nuzzle into him, his left arm curling around and tiredly brushing through your hair with his six fingers. 

“I’m…. not sure….”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for all of that :T   
> but on a bright note...
> 
> the Lovely HunkleJunk drew a beautiful picture from chapter one! check it out! <3
> 
> https://hunklejunk.tumblr.com/post/627818537005809664/ok-so-i-dont-know-if-anyone-checked-out-this 
> 
> also, for anyone is curious, I started a Stanley route of this story, so you can jump onto over and read that? 
> 
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/26113171/chapters/63520465
> 
> if you wanna?   
> well anyway, please take care <3


	7. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stanford says something that's been on his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AH, sorry, I changed things up if any of you read it, but uh,
> 
> Beta read by the lovely HunkleJunk 
> 
> (I wasn't the happiest how it turned out so I made edits) 
> 
> Enjoy <3

Getting a ride to school with Stanley and Ford for the last 4 and a half weeks had become so normal, that getting a call from your boyfriend at six in the morning saying that they aren’t able to take you, was slightly confusing. Considering the fact that you were completely asleep when Stanford called you, it’s not like you fully remember why he even said that. You do remember he said that he’ll be borrowing Stanley’s car to pick you up after school, which was confusing. He has anxiety about driving, especially with one arm, so hearing that was the only thing that woke you up. 

Despite him picking you up every morning, you and Stanley haven’t been talking too much in the last week, you got in an argument and he’s being stubborn. He doesn’t listen. You’ve been sitting in the back seat with Stanford, occasionally getting a few words out of Stanley. He’s been smoking more often...

After school, you walk out to the El Diablo that is sitting near it’s usual spot near the campus. Stanford’s head was slumped over on the steering wheel, while his left hand was twisting over his body to reach the stick shift, which didn’t look comfortable. His right arm was still in a slight, though him getting it removed in a few weeks really perked you up. Naming why you were so excited to have it removed off of him was difficult to do without blushing. 

You gently tap on the window to get his attention, when there is no response you walk around the car and tap on the driver’s window. He looks up at you, his glasses were up past his forehead in his hair, and he had an indent from the steering wheel on his forehead. How long has he been here?

He opens the car door, and tiredly pulls you down and into his lap. 

“Stanford?” you ask, it’s not like being held in his lap was bad, it was just unlike him to be bold. 

“I missed you so much…” he says tiredly, closing the door and awkwardly holding you on his lap. You adjust, removing your book bag, placing it on the seat available next to him, then get back in his lap, sitting between his legs while yours bend over his right leg. He looks at you, his eyes full of affection, and he pulls you in more, into a tight hug “it was a long night…” he mumbles into the crook of your neck. 

“What happened…?” you ask softly, wondering why he’s acting so tired and cuddly. 

“So…” he starts, yawning before he continues “Ma, woke up Stanley to drive her to the hospital, I woke up, and somehow I was roped in trying to keep her calm for the car ride…” he nuzzles into you more, taking in a deep breath “it was a lot...lots and lots of screaming… her water broke in the back seat...so that was…. Not the best thing to clean up.” he says with a cringe. 

“Her water broke….? Wait, she had the baby?” 

He tiredly nods “yeah… Shermine Thomas Pines…. Eight pounds...four ounces. Ten fingers and Ten toes…” 

You reach up, placing a hand on his cheek “Did you...want to go back to the hospital?” you question. He gives you a tired expression “you want to...go back to my house for a while to take a nap, then go back to the hospital?” you offer.

“Yes… please…” he whispers. Without asking, you get up and scoot him over to the seat next to you. “You’re going to drive?” 

“Of course, you’re tired, and your arm is still broken” you say, starting the car up, and starting the drive to your house. 

He tiredly stares at you for a few minutes during the drive, you aren’t sure if he IS staring or if he’s asleep, but his face is facing your direction. “Stanford?” you ask, without looking away from the street. “Are you doing okay?” 

“Yeah...just thinking…” he mumbles. 

“About?” 

“Well… how do you feel about kids? Babies and such? You think you’d ever want to have one of those?” he asks curiously, his exhaustion making him unaware of how forward his question was. 

Your face reddens before you can muster up the words “w-well...I love kids, babies are sweet, I actually used to babysit for a neighbor of mine before they moved away” you say before the next words fall out of your mouth “and yeah, having a child with you doesn’t sound bad at all.” 

That woke him up. 

“What?” he asks, his half lidded eyes now wide. 

“I-I-I mean like… y’know...if things go smoothly...and we’re still together in the future...not like now or anything” you say, stumbling over your words, your heart beat slamming hard in your chest. 

Stanford looks at you for a few moments before he says anything “yeah… I’d like to think it’ll last that long” his cheeks and ears burning red as he thinks about it. 

“Me too…” you say quietly before parking in front of your house. 

Once you start to walk into the house, your mind starts to explode with thoughts. Have you ever truly been alone with Stanford since you’ve gotten together? You’re alone in your house now, no Stanley, no shitty Carla, just you and Stanford. 

When locking the door behind you as Stanford makes his way up stairs a part of you wonders if he’s thought about it. He did just talk to you about babies.. He did just say that he wants you to be together for a long time. Sure, the thought has crossed your mind when you’d lay in bed together and you could feel his excitement but it’s not like you’ve ever gotten far with him. Is he thinking of things like this? Oh geez…

You place your book bag on the table, should you join him? Just to lay down. 

Of course, just that. 

Stop thinking like that. 

You make your way upstairs, and gently knock on the bedroom door, your knocking is immediately met with a high pitched but quiet sound as the door moves open. 

“Stanford, are you awake?” 

“Yeah… is everything okay?” he asks from the bed, his shoes on the floor nearby and his over shirt and pants are neatly placed on the desk, while his glasses lay folded on his night stand.

“Yeah, just wondering if I could join you?” you ask, stepping into the room. 

“Of course, dear” he says, sliding over in the bed so that his right, casted arm, was against the wall. 

You remove your shoes, socks, and cardigan, only crawling into the bed next to him, wearing your blue spotted dress. You rest your head on his chest, and his hand comes up to gently stroke his six fingers through your hair, always careful not to nick on anything. 

You feel a small kiss on the top of your head, prompting you to lift your head up and look into his brown eyes. His affectionate gaze, fills your body with butterflies, and a sweet smile spreads across your lips. 

Your smile proves to be contagious as he looks up at you with a similar smile, the smile fades for a moment as he looks away. Like he is debating what to say. 

“What is it…?” you ask, noticing his small shift. 

“Can I tell you something?” he asks, his voice shaky. 

“Of course” you say, resting your chin on his chest to look at his face as he thought. 

“I….” his voice wavers “I think...that I’m falling in love with you…” he says quietly, his deep brown eyes looking into your eyes, inches away. 

“You are?” you ask in slight disbelief, and he nods at your words. “I...I think I am….falling in love with you too, Stanford…” 

His gaze softens as he leans into a kiss, his left hand holding the back of your head. For curiosity’s sake you open your mouth slowly, gently licking his bottom lip. A surprised gasp escapes him, but he meets you with the same level of curiosity. Before you know it, you’re exploring each other's mouths, gentle little sounds escaping you as your kiss gains traction. 

His hand slowly moves from the back of your head, down your back, to the bareskin of your leg. Before making a U turn, and going back up, however, this way around his fingertips move underneath the skirt of your dress. As he’s gripping at your upper thigh, he hesitates. He can feel himself getting too excited, and isn’t sure if that is the best idea. He doesn’t know if something like that would change your relationship or what, but he stops. He pulls his hand up, and holds your face. To stop the traction of his excitement in the kisses, he pulls away, pecking your lips before pulling away. 

Your faces remain close, the tip of his nose touching yours. 

“I didn’t mean to put on the breaks but… I kinda did” he said with a faint laugh. 

“That’s okay” you say, lifting a hand and placing it on top of yours on your cheek. “But...when we get there… I just want you to know that I trust you.” 

“I trust you too...I don’t think I could ever not trust you…” he says, his low voice warm with affection. His words make you smile, but it also makes you question

“How are you so sure…?” you question, because your mind went to Stanley. Even after trying to explain to him that he should break up with Carla, he said he trusted her. He admitted she has made mistakes in the past, but he trusts her, she isn’t a bad person. His words frustrated you, you told him what she tried to get you and Stanford to do, but he just blamed it on her being drunk. 

~ “how can you be so sure?” you asked, frustration growing into anger. “How can you stand up for her? You were unconscious, Stanley” 

~ “I just know, okay? I’ve known her since middle school, she’s not some rapey perv!” he said, mad that you’d accuse Carla.  
~ “No Stanley,what you two have is just not healthy, she said you didn’t want to have sex with her until you were drunk enough to give in!” you shout. 

~It hit a nerve, and stepped back, clutching his fists at his sides, and looking down at the ground. He looked back up at you, his eyes angry “just fuck off! Go talk to Stanford or something, stop trying to help me! It’s useless!” he shouted, before leaving your house, tailing it away down the street. 

~ you wanted to shout to get him to come back… he was your friend...why would he…~

“I just have a feeling… you’re always trying to help… I can’t see you ever being a distrustful person.” Stanford says, snapping you out of your thoughts. “You’re amazing… I know you are.”

“Well..thanks Stanford… you are too…” 

~~~~~~

Soon after talking, you both fall into a deep sleep. 

When you wake up, the sun is setting, filling your room with hues or orange and pink. 

You and Ford don’t waste much time before hopping in the car, driving the El Diablo as he sits in the passenger seat. The hospital is a little further than you remember, but when one is driving sately, of course the drive is going to be a bit slower. 

You and Stanford make your way through the hospital, finally making it to the maternity ward. He leads you the way to his mom’s room, it isn’t that far off. 

“Oh, my babies are all together again” she says tiredly as she sees Stanford walk through the doorway. Stanley is sitting in the seat next to the bed, Shermie in a deep sleep in his arms. Stanley looks extremely tired, but he looks away as soon as you enter the room.

“Stanford, can you take your little brother, I think Stanley’s falling asleep” she says in a soft joking manner. 

Stanford listens, taking his little-ist brother from his ‘little’ brother. Sure, he was only a few minutes older than Stanley, and despite sharing the same birthday, he takes pride in being born first. Carrying Shermie with just one arms was hard, but once he figured that he could gently rest the baby’s bum on his cast arm, while the other supports his neck. Stanley’s head falls backwards as he slides down in the chair. 

Stanford looks so sweet holding his little brother like that. Shermine is so tiny… he’s wearing a small blue cap, and swaddled in a white and multicolor striped blanket. 

“Do you want to hold him, sweetie?” you hear Mrs. Pines ask you, a tired smile on her face. 

“Oh...yeah, I’d be more than happy to.” you say, Stanford stands up, and carefully slides his baby brother into your arms. You look down to the small baby in your arms, sleeping away, without a care in the world. Subconsciously you start swaying side to side, your attention not looking away from Shermine, but everyone’s attention was on you. 

“Quite the natural, aren't cha?” Mrs. Pines asks from the hospital bed, her eyes flickering to Stanford. 

“Oh, well I used to watch the neighbor’s baby” you say, feeling a slight head come off your face, she wouldn’t know anything about what happened earlier right? Was it obvious? No...no she wouldn’t know that. 

“You don’t say?” she asks, letting out a long heavy yawn “ya think ya could watch Shermie for me, so I can sleep? Stanley and Stanford stayed up with me all night, but Stanford looks pretty relaxed” she says, her eyes squinting at Stanford in a slightly mischievous way “so I’m sure he could help” she shoots him a wink before closing her eyes. You know she isn’t fully asleep, but you try to stay quiet. Thankfully there were three chairs in the room, but from how cramped they were, it looks as though the extra chairs were brought in. 

After a few minutes, you can hear the steady snoring of Stanley and their mother. 

“How are you?” Stanford whispers over. 

“I’m good… he’s a cute little guy” you say, finally looking away from Shermine and looking up at Stanford. Somehow you hadn't noticed that he had been drawing in a small book. “What are you drawing?” 

He lifts up the book to show you a detailed portrait of the baby in your arms, along with his birth information “Trying to get a record down, just in case” 

“That’s sweet…” you whisper “how are you? Still tired?” 

“I’m really good actually…” he says, smiling softly at you “did you mean what you said earlier?...that you could see us... with a little one one day...?” he asks, his voice much quieter than before. “I’m just wondering…” 

“yeah...I meant it, Stanford…” you whisper back. At your words he looks down at Shermine, and starts twirling his pencil in his fingers as he thinks.

“Darling… I…” he pauses, and taps his pencil down on his book in a rhythmic beat “I know it’s hardly been over a month...but…” he stops tapping and looks down at Shermine, then up at you “I think...I think if we're still together after graduation.... do you think you'd want to... uhm" he pauses, trying to get the words out "... get...married?” He says his voice shaking, resting a hand down on yours. 

“Stanford…” you say, resting your head down on his shoulder “I'd love that…”


	8. Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stanley's trying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning, brief talk of past self harm and child abuse.

You can’t sleep. 

You’ve been tossing and turning in your bed, but your eyelids just don’t feel heavy like they should. 

You decide that working on some notes and sketch blueprints for the upcoming science fair sounded like someone that would either make the time pass or put you to sleep. You still weren’t sure what you wanted to do, but Stanford’s enthusiasm for his idea kind of got you excited to think of something. He was hoping to succeed in making a fully functional perpetual motion machine. He was so excited to start drawing up blueprints, he said that he didn’t even feel tired earlier the morning after, despite spending the whole night in the hospital with his mom. 

You don’t know how he does it…

Thankfully tomorrow she’ll be able to go home.

After the second sketch idea you were just tired of doing it… Granted you are already VERY tired, and it’s the middle of the night.

You almost fall out of bed when you hear pounding downstairs “I’m going to be murdered…” you say aloud to yourself. As the pounding continues you reach into a drawer in your desk, Stanley’s pocket knife was still stashed away in there. 

Going down stairs to keep anyone from breaking in sounds like a good idea...right?

You carefully and quietly make your way down the stairs. Did they break in already? The pounding stopped.

Once you get down stairs, you can see the front door is still locked. However, you can hear shuffling on the front porch. You open the front door, leaving the chain attached just in case. In the dark you can see...

“Stanley…?” you ask, hesitantly. He’s wearing a dark sweater, along with his usual jeans. His hair was poofed up like Ford’s you almost thought it was him. However, their body builds are too different for you to mistake them for the other. You close the door, remove the chain, then open it back up again. He looks up at you and the knife in your hand, slightly startled, his face looks… dark in some places “what are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night” you say, pocketing the knife. 

“Can uhm...can we talk?” he asks quietly, fidgeting with his hands, looking away once you attempt to make eye contact. 

“Sure…” you mumble, opening the door and gesturing for him to enter. He hesitates before entering, shuffling his feet as he makes his way over to the couch and sits down. 

“I...I want to apologize…” he says quietly, folding his fingers together.

“For…?” you ask, still hurt with how hard he had yelled at you. Sure you raised your voice, but the anger in his yell...it still hurt. 

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that…. Especially shouldn’t have told you to fuck off….” he says quietly. It’s hard to make out his face in this lighting, but he seemed to be avoiding looking you in the eye… “I was just...mad....and I get it….I get that you’re just trying to watch out for me...but… you can’t just...tell someone to break up with someone….” 

“I’m sorry… I shouldn't have started it like that...I just care about you Stanley… you can’t just expect me to sit back and watch when I think you’re on the titanic…” you say, moving to the couch to sit next to him.

“So you’re saying Carla’s an iceberg?...” he asks, his tone sounding hurt…

You stay silent, you don’t want to hurt him more,but as the silence settles over the two of you you have to say something… anything… “you just...you mean a lot to me… I don’t want you to get hurt or...pressured to do something you don’t want…” 

He can’t think of anything to say, but he hugs you, wrapping you in a tight embrace, he doesn’t sob or cry, he just hugs you. When he pulls away, the dim light finally shines on the hidden side of his face. He has a shiner. Dark blue and purple mixed together, and gentle outlines with a dark green...it’s so swollen over, making it hard to hold it too open….

Your hand shoots up, gently placing it on his cheek. He let out a pained hiss before pulling away. 

“Who did this to you?” you ask, tone concerned and serious. 

“Don’t worry...it’s fine…” he says, leaning his torso to the other side of the couch, covering his eye with his hand. “Nothing I didn’t deserve…” 

“Who, Stanley.” you say, doubling down on your demand. 

Stanley goes quiet, looking down at the ground, kicking at absolutely nothing. 

“Please…” you say, softening your tone. 

“My Pa…” he admits “I got mad since he hasn’t even tried to see Shermie yet, and called him a horrible father...I deserved it… I know he feeds us… keeps the roof over our head….” 

“Stanley…” you say taking a step closer, but he just takes a step back. 

“I just wanted to come here to apologize…” he says, wrapping his arms around his torso. 

“Stanley...we’re still friends right?” You ask, pausing in hopes he responds, his expression softens and he nods “then why are you trying to dismiss this like we aren’t friends? You know I care about you, I love you guys so much, and It kills me to see him treat you like this”

His eyes widen at your words “you love me?” 

“Well yeah…” you say, looking away at the black screen of your television , but you turn back to him and add “you’re like..my best friend Stanley... you mean a lot to me” 

“Oh…” he mumbles, of course it’s just as a friend, you’re with his brother “does Ford know you love him?...” he asks quietly, “I’m assuming your feelings for him aren’t so...platonic”

“He… kinda knows? I told him I was starting to feel this way but...no, I haven’t told him I do…” you say awkwardly, but a thought hits you in the head like a plank of wood “your face!” you get up, and run some water on a rag, and bring it back “it should be cool enough” 

He takes it, placing it on his face “thanks…” he sits silently for a moment, occasionally lifting the rag off his face “just so you know...I….I feel the same way about you,…. I do ...love you..in a friendship way…” he looks down at the rag “all my life, Sixer’s been my best friend, my only true friend, really… but… I’m glad that you came into our lives… Ford seems really happy with you and… It’s nice talking to someone… and” he let out a small sigh and looked down at the ground “….having someone care” 

“I don’t think I could ever not care about you, Stanley” you say, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

He turns his attention to you and smiles softly. 

“You know you can spend the night here?...you don’t have to go back home with your dad…” you say softly, but he stands up, you hand slides off of him. 

“I won’t go back home, I’ll go meet up with Ma and Stanford at the hospital” he says, making his way to the front door, but your hand stops him. 

“Promise me you’ll wear your glasses on the way there? It’s the middle of the night… I want you to drive safe” you say, your eyes tired and pleading. 

“I promise”

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

“Stanford, why are you still awake?” Stanley asks once he opens the hospital room door. 

“Well…you did call and say you said you were coming here… I couldn’t just be asleep for that.” he says, placing his book down on the window sill “where’d you go?” he paused and stood up and walked over to Stanley, who still had his glasses on his face, but glasses weren’t enough to hide his bruise “did you get in a fight?” his eyes squinting, expecting an answer. 

“Oh this?” Stanley said, pointing to his shiner “it’s nothing, I tripped and my fist broke my fall” 

Stanford squints his eyes, and grabs Stanley’s arm and takes him out to the hallway “you know I know you’re lying, right? That’s the oldest lie you ever told. You told pa that when we were little...what happened?” he asked, concern in his voice.

“Nothing” he says with a swipe of his hand, motioning to move the conversation along “it’s fine, don’t worry about it” 

Stanford placed his left hand on his hip, and let out a frustrated groan “you’re telling me later….” 

“Sure thing, Poindexter” he responds, knowing he won't. 

“So, if you won’t answer that inquiry… Where did you go? You called, then it took you forever to get here” Ford said, despite sounding upset, he was more concerned for his brother than anything. 

“I uh….I went to go apologize to your girl…” he admitted, his hand coming up to rub the back of his neck. 

Stanford’s brow rises and turns his head to look at the clock, then turning it back to look at his twin “Stanley, it’s three in the morning, she must have been sleeping, right?” he says, holding his hand out, palm slightly up as he questions.

“I’m uh… not sure if she was sleeping.... But I’m sure she thought someone was breaking in, considering he was holding a knife.” he answers awkwardly. 

“A knife?” Ford asks “I mean that makes sense if she thought you were breaking in…” 

“If it makes you feel better, it was once my knife” Stanley says, in a poor attempt to reassure his brother.

“That honestly, doesn’t make me feel any better? Why did you have a knife?” Stanford asked, raising a brow “I didn’t think you were the kind of guy to fight with those”

“No no I just used it to…” he trailed off, he can’t tell Stanford that, could he even admit it to his brother even if he knew Stanford would be supportive? “Open letters and boxes” Stanley said, yeah, totally a convincing case. 

If Stanford could cross his arms he would “let me see your arms” he demanded. 

Stanley held both of his arms out, and Ford inspected as much as he could. However, all he could see was old faint scars, practically matching the color of his skin. He remembered a time when Stanley would do that, they were about eight, and another time when they were twelve, but it’s been years. At least, that’s what these old scars indicate. Unfortunately, he didn’t think of checking anywhere else. Stanley didn’t get much better, but he did get better at hiding it. 

“See? I’m okay, Stanford” Stanley said with a reassuring smile, finally convincing Ford. 

Stanford let out a sigh, and dropped Stanley’s arms, “okay… so what did she say? Are you back on speaking terms?” it sure was awkward being around them when it was obvious that Stanley was ignoring her, and that she was upset about it. Stanford was actually the one to convince Stan to go talk to her, but he didn’t mean at three in the morning. 

“Well of course she forgave me… she’s a forgiving person…” Stanley says, sliding his back down on the wall, till he was sitting on the hospital floor. Stanford slid down next to him. 

“Yeah, she’s great… I’m glad you guys are talking again...it was nice that you two were friends…” Stanford says, looking at his brother, offering him a small smile, before turning away to look at the room their mother was in. 

“Hey Ford…?” Stanley says quietly, receiving a small hum in response “do you love her?” 

Stanford turns his head and looks at his brother “yeah, why?” 

“I mean like, are you in love with her?” he asks. 

Stanford’s face burns red “uh… yeah… yeah I am… or at least I think I am.” 

“How do you know?” Stanley asks quietly, because what he and Carla have, is definitely not as affectionate as you and Ford. 

“Well… my body releases a lot of oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin…” 

“Normal English, Poindexter, those words don’t help me understand jack” Stanley said, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

“Right…” Ford pauses to think of the right words “she makes me really happy… makes me feel like I’m special, but not like for my intelligence or extra digits, but for me… I feel like I can be myself, and that I don’t need to lie to impress her...and sometimes when we’re together I get really excited and I just want to-” 

“OKAY! Okay, I get it” Stanley interrupted his twin, giving him a small shove with his elbow “you devil” Stanley says, smirking. Stanford just then realises how carried away he got with talking and his ears burn red as he looks away. 

Ford clears his throat, trying to recover “look, it’s not just that...she makes me feel like...I want to spend the rest of my life with her… get married...start a family” 

“Pump the breaks there big guy, how are you so sure of that? You’ve only been together like… a month and a half? Right?” Stanley asks. 

“I mean, no one can be one hundred percent sure of anything, but I feel pretty sure… and I think she is too” Ford says, softly smiling.

“She is…” Stanley says, placing a hand on his brother’s shoulder “and sure, I think you’re crazy” he gives Ford a small squeeze “but I’m happy for you, and I’d love to be there for you on your big day.” 

“Well, when the day comes, of course you’ll be my best man, right?” Ford asks a bright smile on his face, Stanley reciprocates the expression and nods “well you better be!” Ford says with a laugh, gently punching at Stanley’s arm “you’ve been by side through everything, we’re the kings of New Jersey, aren’t we?” 

Stanley smiled softly “yeah, we’re kings of New Jersey, that'll never change…”


	9. Figure it out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a short little chapter that I knew I'd beat myself over if I just skipped over this.

The chilled air cooled your cheeks through the open window as you drove home from school, leaving your cheeks and nose a hue of pink that makes you look flustered. 

Stanford's hand was free for you to use as you drive, keeping your hand warm. Despite continuously letting go to use the stick shift, it was nice to hold his hand,his extra finger protecting your pinky from the cold November air. 

Stanley didn’t want to come over to your house after school, he was planning to go to the gym and get some boxing done before they close the gyms for winter. 

You were thankful that your parents let you buy a car, it's going to be December soon, and they didn’t want you to worry about walking in the cold. 

“Darling?” he pipes up midway home.

“Yeah?” 

“You know how you said you wanted to go to college after high school?” 

“Yeah, what about it?” you respond, glancing away from the street for a second to see him looking out the window, that conversation was weeks ago. 

“I’ve just...been thinking more and more about it… that school you said you want to go to… West Coast Tech… it’s better than Backupsmore, right?” he asks quietly. A few weeks ago, he told you that a counselor talked to him about his grades, and that they were perfect enough to get a full ride scholarship to Backupsmore, you were excited for him, but he seemed unsure about it. He wants to go, but it is sort of far from home. 

“I mean sure? It’s more prestigious? Their success rates are higher, and they offer more classes but… Backupsmore has pretty much the same class” you pause as you make sure to make a safe turn “give or take a few….” 

Backupsmore definitely has more classes in the Arts, but less... complex scientific classes. They had them, sure, but not as many. 

“But isn’t West Coast Tech… in California? How will we see each other?” He asks quietly. 

“Well…” you pause in thought, you didn’t think about that… it’ll be hard sure… and right now, you’re sure you’re in love with him, so if he was serious about marriage after high school… how would that work “I don’t know… but we can make it work...you could always try applying for a scholarship to West Coast Tech…?” 

“yeah ...I could do that…” he says quietly, leaning his forehead against the window. He really didn’t want this relationship to end… he loves you too much. 

“Or if all else, I could just go to Backupsmore? I could save money doing that” you suggest with a shrug, pulling into the spot in front of your house. 

“Oh no, I wouldn’t ask you to do that,” he says seriously. 

“They have a robotics program there, engineering doctoral program, and a medical doctoral program...sure, it’s not mixed together like it is at West Coast Tech, but I can make it work.” 

“No… don’t do that.” he says softly, taking your hand in his. “It’s okay, we’ll figure it out” 

“Speaking of figuring it out...have you talked to Stanley about any of this?” you ask gently, but a seriousness to your tone suggesting that you’re tired of his procrastination. 

“No…” he mumbles as you get out of the car. 

Putting the keys into the door you turn back “well you should talk to him before it’s too late… okay?” 

“You’re right…” he says, before pecking your cheek with a kiss. 

“Thanks, I know” you say with a smile, lifting a hand to hold his cheek to peck his lips. He smiles warmly at your kiss, the affection washing away his currently clouded thoughts. He can figure this out...he has you by his side. 

~~~

After two hours of doing homework, Ford slides over a piece of paper “can I have you help with this question? I’m having a bit of trouble with it” he says, his expression genuine. 

“Oh… uh sure, Stanford” 

~ Solve for i ~

“Okay…” you mumble to yourself. Algebra? But Stanford’s taking calculus… 

9x-7i > 3(3x-7u) 

9x-7i > 9x-21u 

‘just subtract the 9x..’ you think, you glance up to Stanford, who is watching you in anticipation. A small smile tugging at his lips.

-7i > -21u 

Divide the negative 7. 

The answer is...

i < 3u 

You stare down at the paper for a second before it hits you. “Oh!” you exclaim, and look up at Ford, who is smiling, and has a blush on his cheeks. A smile tugs your lips up, pushing your cheeks up to your eyes. 

“I do…” he says quietly, lifting his arm to place his hand on yours “I love you…” 

You look at the table, stupid table, in the way, you slide your hand out from under his and walk around the table. He stands up before you reach him, and you slam into him with a hug. He wraps his arms around you, and his left hand comes up to hold your cheek. 

“I love you too, Stanford” you say, looking into his warm brown eyes. His hand pulls you into him, and his lips press against yours. His kiss was soft and sweet, and full of affection. You could swear that everything around you didn’t matter.

~

He spent the night before doing homework, and once he figured out that he wanted to tell you, he just wanted to figure out how. 

He ran the equation idea past Stanley, and with some explaining, Stanley got it. Though, he thought his brother should just outright say it, but Stanford felt that this is how he has to do it.  
~ 

Telling you feels like a weight off his chest, what CAN’T he do? He feels like he could do anything. He can even talk to Stanley about college, he can figure out a way to get into West Coast Tech, he can do this… 

He’ll figure it out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posted a picture on my instagram @Mother_Mortician_ of Ford figuring out how to do this the night before.  
> Also a crap ton of my story board doodles are on there if you're curious. (they're in my highlights)  
> (warning, they're just crap doodles so I get my thoughts out) 
> 
> Take care!


	10. Holy Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First times are scary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY. SO! This is censored. 
> 
> I have posted the uncensored version on my page.  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/26779936 
> 
> This was part of the development of the relationship. It was bound to happen.  
> sex. I'm talking about sex. don't worry. this is censored.  
> the "XXXxxxXXX" is when it happens.
> 
> beta read by my dear friend, OolongTeacup :)

“Your parents really aren’t coming back for the holidays?” Ford asks, adjusting his scarf around his neck. 

“Not this year, but it’s fine, they made sure I wasn’t just going to be sitting at home alone, they know I’ll be joining you guys” You say simply, taking Ford’s hand in yours. 

“Are you sure you want to join my family for the holidays? I just feel like every time you’re around my pa, you get angry” he says, placing a hand onto your cheek. 

“Oh, sweetie” you stick out your bottom lip slightly before planting a kiss on his cheek “that will never change.” 

“That’s fair.” he says with an exhale laugh. “But I just want you to enjoy the festivities” 

“I’m sure I will, but we have some time to think about that, it’s only the fourteenth, a whole week between now and lighting the first candle.” you say, trying to sound optimistic. 

“Yeah that’s true...and at least I have winter break to work on my perpetual motion machine.” he says, pulling you into his chest. You were thankful for winter break, because all the snow was absolutely freezing. You slink your arms into Stanford’s coat, and under his shirt and sweater.  
“Holy hell, what are you doing?” he asks, looking at you, his cheeks and nose red from the cold. “Your hands are like liquid nitrogen” 

“But your back is sooo warm” you mumble, rubbing up and down on his bare back, in hopes of heating up your fingers faster. You can feel goose bumps form on his skin as his body stiffens.

“What happened to your gloves?” he asks softly, keeping his arms in his coat pockets while he wrapped his arms around you, bringing it completely around both of you like a big blanket. 

“I think I got them swiped when I took them off for our lab today in chemistry” you say, finally feeling your fingers again. 

“Oh...do you want mine?” he asks, rubbing his soft stubbled cheek against yours.

“no...I made those for you,” you say, burying your face into his scarf and gently against his neck. Ford lifted his hands, black knitted six fingered gloves, they were a thoughtful gift…

“Yeah okay…” he says, closing his eyes for a moment “what’s taking Stanley so long?” 

“He told me his teacher is making him clean the classroom before he could leave…” you say quietly. 

“I see… we should have gotten his car key so at least we wouldn’t be in the snow…” 

“We can always go back on campus?” you suggest

He looks at you with a raised brow “well, I mean, if we’re on campus, I don’t have an excuse to hold you like this” he says, a smile tugging at his lips. 

“Well who says you can’t hold me like this on campus?” you ask, smiling at him. 

“Mr. Reddy, don’t you remember?” he asks curiously. 

“Well there is that huh?” 

You two weren’t even doing anything. It’s been getting colder and colder the more into December you got, so you and Ford held each other for warmth, and Mr. Reddy scorned you both for your public display of affection. It was just a hug...but granted, it lasted longer. 

If Mr. Reddy was upset about that, he’d hate to hear what you and Ford got to when you were alone. You haven’t gone all the way yet, but when you’ve kissed heavily enough, him on top of you. Creating friction. It excited you, and it excited Stanford a little more obviously. Your cheeks turn red at the memory. There were moments where it seemed like there would be friction, but Stanford would panic at the first hint of it. Maybe that’ll change during winter break...

“What are you thinking about?” a small curious smile on his lips as he asks you.

“Nothing?” you say as a question, your tone bashful. 

‘Mmhmmm’ he hums, smiling at you, rubbing his cheek against yours, the soft stubble scratching at your skin. You stand in warm silence for a moment before he mumbles “My arm hurts…” he felt under his thick jack at the long scar left behind from the doctors putting his bone back together. 

“I know… the cold does that to bones that have been broken…” you say, flipping your hands to their dorsal side to warm them up, the palms of your hands touching his shirt. 

“Yeah…” he mumbles, looking down at his right arm, twisting it around to inspect it “it’s nice to get it off in time to work on my project. I even started up a prototype, just have to complete it over break then run tests and…” 

“You shouldn’t work all of winter break, Ford.” you say, catching sight of Stanley. 

“It won’t be all break...just… a lot of it. I know I can do this…” he says, also seeing Stanley walk over. 

“Aww man, you guys having a hug-fest?” he asks, wrapping his arms around both you and Stanford. Despite his strong grip, he was a very warm guy, so it was nice. “Cozy,” he mumbles. The classroom he was cleaning up was cold, the teacher refused to close the window, and told him to suck it up and stop complaining.

Once he releases you and Ford decide to separate “Okay Nerds, I’m just gonna drop you off” Stanley says, as he sticks his keys in the car, and sitting down to reach over and unlock the doors. 

“What? I thought we were going to hang out?” you ask, getting in the front seat next to him. Stanford crawls in the backseat, lays down, and picks up the wool blanket he had left earlier that morning. He curls it around himself and holds it open for you with a hum, offering you to join, but you just mouth the words ‘later’ and look back at Stanley. 

“Yeah, I know I said I would but… Carla said her family is going camping in Pennsylvania this weekend to pick out a ‘Christmas’ tree, and invited me along.” 

“Is that a good idea?” you ask curiously, your brows furrowed

“Well sure, I mean, her dad could be plotting to kill me…” his words fade as he glances at you “but it’s fine, Ma’ll know where I am…” he pauses to pull on his glasses “and besides, maybe this’ll help her parents like me more” 

They’d only been back together for two months now...Granted, you and Ford have been together for about two months as well… but that didn’t change the fact that you don’t think Carla is good for him. Stanley told you that he and Carla had a talk, but he won’t tell you what the talk discussed. She seems nicer to him but… you don’t trust her. You can’t force Stanley out of that relationship but… it’s hard to support his relationship. 

“Okay then…” 

You can see Stanley glance over from the corner of his eye, but he doesn’t say anything else, instead he reaches over and switches on his car radio. When he turns it on, there is some commentary from the hosts that ends with their announcement of the next song ‘Love me’ by Elvis Presley. 

~Treat me like a fool ~ Treat me mean and cruel ~ but love me ~  
~ wring my faithful heart ~ tear it all apart ~ but love me ~ 

Listening to the words you turn your head and look over at Stanley, the words felt...familiar. 

~ I would beg and steal ~  
~ just to feel ~  
~ your heart ~  
~ beating close to mine ~

~ if you ever go ~ darling I’ll be oh so lonely ~  
~ begging on my knees ~ all i ask is please, please love me ~

“Hey, Stanley?” you start once that song ends, he raises a brow and flicks his eyes in your direction for just a second. 

“You like that song?” 

“Well sure, who doesn’t like Elvis?” he asks, before turning at the jughandle. He’s got a point, right now who doesn’t love Elvis? Maybe the people who like Ray Charles more? Nonetheless, there was something about that song that hit you in a way that makes you think it’s about Stanley… “why’re you acting weird? Do you and Ford have big plans this weekend that you’re nervous about?” 

You can hear a quick squeak from the back seat as Stanford bolts upright “what? No, we don’t have anything planned” he said, holding up both of his hands to his brother “I mean we talked about putting up some lights at your house, right?” his eyes darted to you. This conversation he’s speaking of, didn’t happen. 

“No yeah, we were going to set some things out so it looks festive” you say, playing along. You wonder why he’s lying, you honestly didn’t have anything planned...did...did he plan something? You can’t really tell from the look he’s giving you...but you can see those gears turning. 

“Ah okay okay” Stanley says as he parks the car in front of your house “don’t need to tell me anything” he adds with a small chuckle. 

Stanford folds the blanket and places it carefully in the backseat before getting out of the car. “Stan, can you promise me something?” he asks before closing the door. 

“Sure thing, Sixer, what is it?” He asks back, leaning back in his seat to look at his twin. 

“Promise me you’ll stay safe” Stanford says, his expression concerned yet serious. 

Stanley smiles “of course, Ford” he opened the door and hugged his brother “you softy!” he teases.

“Hey!” Stanford says, trying to push his brother off of him, but it’s obvious he’s not trying all too hard “stop that, you knucklehead” he says with a laugh. Them joking together forces a smile to spread across your lips, distracting you from taking your bag out. Soon enough, their ‘roughhousing’ ends and the three of you say your goodbyes, you gave him a quick hug and some words of safe travels. 

The breeze starts to pick up, sending freezing shivers up your sleeves and under your clothes. Leading you and Stanford to quickly hurry into the house. Once you get into the house, you run over to the fireplace that is just right of your television inside the wall. 

“Shit shit shit shit shit….” you mumble to yourself as you’re trying to get the logs to light. 

“Do you need help?” Stanford asks from behind you. 

“Uh...sure, Ford” you say, getting up from your crouched position so that he could take your place. After a few moments, he gets the fire to light. He turns around to look at you, a prideful smile on his face as he gets up. “Oh thank you so much, Ford…”you say, before you take a few steps forward to sit next to him in front of the fire. 

“it’s going to get colder tonight… do you think you’re fine driving me home in the snow?” he asks you, pulling you in front of him to hold you in front of the fire. His arms wrap around your front as he snuggles up behind, resting his chin on your shoulder. 

“I think...it’ll be fine...I can always put my chains on the car?” you suggest. 

“or...I could call to spend the night?” he gives as a counter suggestion, at your expression, he decides to add “if you’re okay with me...spending the night?” 

“Of course, I”m okay with you spending the night, why would I say no to that?” You ask, rubbing your cheek against his face from over your shoulder. 

“Well, I don’t know… we don’t normally...I mean...I don’t spend the night usually when it’s just… me? Normally there’s Stanley with us.” he says, his voice shaking as he speaks. 

“ well, yeah, but like, it’s fine? I mean, we’ve slept in the same bed together before? It’s not like Stanley was there for that? It’s fine” you say, placing a soft kiss on his cheek. 

“Okay…” he mumbles. His heart’s pounding in his chest, there was so much he wanted to do with you, and having this chance of privacy, it was just...so tempting. Both of you have already expressed your interest in such things, and the thought was just… overwhelming. 

After a few more minutes, your bodies felt warmed up enough to start walking around the house. The fire was doing a good job with making the house nice and toasty. The smell of the burning wood, and small crackles that would escape it, filled the house. Along with the smell of the cinnamon bark that you had placed on the table. However, the smell of the burning pine logs were enough to fill your mind with ease. It was always a nice comfort to start the fire after a long day of being out in the cold, and having Stanford here was just a comforting sense of security. His love for you shows itself in every glance he offers you.

It was surprising that your teachers didn’t assign homework for winter break, but you were thankful for it. With Stanford’s mother saying it was okay for him to spend the night, and lack of homework, you could just focus on spending time together. Spending time together… maybe there was a chance… 

No. 

~~~ 

After cooking together, brushing your teeth, and getting ready for bed, you and Stanford curl up together on your bed, under the one heated blanket you have in the house. His body was pressed against your back as he spooned himself against you, holding you tightly against him. 

“Hey… I have a question?” Ford mumbles from behind your head, causing you to shift to lay on your back and look at him in the eyes. 

“Yeah?” you ask, looking into his gentle brown eyes without the glare of his glasses in the way. 

“I… I love you a whole awful lot…” he says quietly, his voice wavering. 

“I know you do...and I love you too…” you say gently, placing a hand up on his slightly stubbled cheek “what’s your question?”

“I… I just… was wondering… well…” as he stumbles on his words, the hand that was wrapped around you retracts and pulls at the hair of the back of his head “well… how do you feel...about us...and I… I don’t know… going further than just… kissing…” his eyes were moving to a point on the wall so he didn’t have to look into your eyes, his nerves were already too much as it is. 

“Do you mean like...more physical…?” you ask, his nervous energy spreading to you. “I uh...do you mean… are you asking if I want to do stuff like that…?” 

His brown eyes dart into yours for a second before his eyes flicker to your body and then the wall “yes…” 

“I...would like to…” you admit, your thumb moving back and forth on his cheek as you try to get him to look back at you “do you want to…?” his eyes look into yours as he nods. You move your hand holding his cheek to grab his hand from behind his head and place it on your waist “do you want to...now?” 

You see his eyes glance at your lips then your eyes then back down, then suddenly his lips were on yours. Pressing into you passionately as you press back, moving your hand to brush your fingers into his thick, poofy brown hair. His fingers tighten it’s hold on your waist as he gently presses his excitement against you. 

He breaks the kiss and looks into your eyes, his lips a hair away from yours as he whispers “I love you” before pressing his lips back down to yours. 

You break the kiss this time to pepper his cheek with kisses that moved down to his jaw “I love you too, Stanford” you whisper into his ear. This just got him more excited. 

He swiftly moved and was suddenly on top of you, your legs on either side of his hips. His lips were on your jawline, kissing down to your neck “I love you so much..” he whispers against your skin. 

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxxXXXxxx

Stanford wraps his arms around you as you rest your head on his chest “you don’t...you don’t regret that...do you…?” he asks quietly. 

“Not at all”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to Hell.


	11. Tradition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friday, December 21st, 1962  
> First night of Hanukkah

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firstly, I'd like to thank RW for educating me on Judaism and Jewish tradition, and thank you for letting me interview you.  
> Secondly, sorry this took so long, thank you for your patience <3
> 
> I apologize if there are any errors in details about the tradition...

“You look… wow…”  
Was all that could come out of Stanford. His eyes are wide and his jaw slack as he looks at you. Stanley’s standing next to him, almost as in awe as his brother is. 

“Is it too much?” you ask, a hot blush spreading across your cheeks. 

“well... you are meetin’ our family” Stanley says bashfully, quickly removing his glasses and shoving them in his pocket, turning his face away so neither you or Ford could see his face. “and it’s the first night of hanukkah…” he adds on. It really isn’t too much. Both twins' hair was styled back and both in formal wear, button up shirts with ties, slacks and shiny black shoes. Stanley’s shoes are only a little less lustrous, since he doesn’t care too much about polishing them. 

“Oh god… is it normal to feel this nervous?” you ask, sliding your hands down the front of your dress. 

“I mean..I’m nervous, and it’s my family” Ford says, taking off his glasses to wipe away the fog that was accumulating, before placing them back on his face. “but ...Darling, you… you look spectacular” he finally manages to say “I hope….no….I know everything will be okay, alright?” he says, finally pushing back the overwhelmed nerves of seeing you look like this, and stepping forward, taking your hands in his, all twelve fingers holding around yours tenderly. 

“Alright” you say, smiling softly, as your thumbs slide back and forth over the back of his hand. 

Stanley loudly clears his throat “since you guys are done, we should get going, I still gotta pick up Carla” he asks, pulling his coat back on over his attire, soon followed by his glasses,scarf, and gloves. It wasn’t that warm in your house, but it was definitely much warmer than outside, where the ground is covered with almost half a foot of snow, and still snowing. 

“Right, sorry Stanley” you say as both you and Stanford separate to pull on your coats, scarves, and gloves, grateful that Stanford hasn’t lost the gloves you had made for him. “Ford, do we have everything?” you ask, your eyes dancing around your house. 

His eyes shifted from your face, down your body, then to himself, then his brother “uh… I believe we have everything, we are coming back here after everything, right?” he asks, looking at you and his twin. 

“Yeah? Are we? I mean I’ll have to drop off Carla, but, sure?” Stanley says, a brow raised. 

“Okay” you say, thankful that he didn’t suggest Carla spending the night. You can tolerate her for Stanley’s sake for the holidays, but her sleeping in your house was just more than you could handle. It’s not like she was always rude or irritating, but just the subtle things she was used to getting away with with just Stanley. 

Stanley jumps in the front seat, as you and Ford sit in the back, your knees hiked over his legs as you rest your head on his shoulder, staying warm together as the car’s heater picks up. You could see Stanley’s eyes glance back at you through the rearview mirror, but it was hard to gage what he’s thinking. You’re glad he agreed to wear his glasses despite his protests, he needs to see to drive, especially in the snow. 

Once Carla got in the car, she started going on and on about their camping trip last weekend, and how their house is already prepped for Christmas. She added on how her parents felt about Stanley after it all, saying they love him now, and are trying to get them to hurry up and get married. At that, you could see Stanley’s eyes squint in the mirror, like he just heard bad news, but decided against bringing it up in the car ride. 

The drive lasted longer than just a short drive to Pines Pawns, festivities are taking place at their grandmother’s house out in Shoreline, a city over. Her house is a nice little cottage style home with a stone wall surrounding the front yard. It’s hard to tell that there's a garden there at all, but Stanford insures there usually is one, but all you can see is a frozen fountain. Icey streams of water, frozen in place. 

The icy air hits your face as soon as you open the car door, causing you to adjust your scarf to cover most of your face, only leaving your eyes exposed so you know where you are going. 

As soon as you walk into the house, you are overwhelmed with everything. The sounds of the guests, the smell of the burning wood and the assortment of foods, the heat of the house. The four of you quickly remove your extra layers, shoving your gloves in the pockets before hanging your coats on the rack, draping your scarves on top of them. From the side of your vision, you could see Stanley, removing his glasses, shoving them in his coat pocket.

“Ford, you got our caps?” Stanley asks, his hand patting the upper back part of his head. 

“Yeah” Ford responds, reaching into his coat pocket, pulling out two caps, and handing one to his brother. 

“There are my boys!” you hear an all to familiar voice all out. “I was starting to worry you got stuck out in the snow” she says, offering two seperate one armed hugs to her twin sons. 

“Nah, we’re okay, Ma” Stanley says brightly, holding his arms out to hold his baby brother “all in one piece, aren’t we, Shermie” his nose scrunched as he smiles enthusiastically at Shermine in his arms. Stanley offers Carla to hold him, but she just pats his head and declines. The forced polite smile on her face disappearing soon after Stanley turns back around to the tiny little face. 

“Stanley, do you think you could watch him for a bit? My Ma needs help with getting dinner prepared” she asks, a hopeful smile on her face, with a hint of a beg. It must be hard taking care of a baby all by herself with Filbrick never helping. Though, it must have been much harder when the twins were babies. 

Stanley agreeing seems very obvious, but not to Carla, whose expression seems as though her plans have been interrupted. Once their mom walks awake, you hear Carla pipe up “but I thought we-” she started, but it’s hard to understand. 

“Which brother are you staring at?” you hear Ford whisper into your ear, jolting you out of your thoughts. 

“Shermine… at first” you admit, he raises a brow “then Carla… she just seems disinterested in him… Shermine, I mean” 

His eyes shift to the two as she whispers into Stanley’s ear, then back to you “yeah… I can see that…” he admits, before straightening out his back and clearing his throat “we can take him, if you want?” 

Stanley looks up slightly, before his eyes glance back down to his baby brother sadly, before his eyes move to Carla “okay… I guess, but just let Ma know, okay?” he says, handing Ford their baby brother. Carla’s arm hooks onto Stanley's as she pulls him deeper into the crowd of people. You assume she’s been here before. 

Ford looks down at his baby brother “Hi Shermine” he says, a soft smile on his face before he leans down and plants a kiss on the top of his head. He’s hardly a month old, so he doesn’t give much of a response. The back of his head sits comfortably in the crook of Stanford’s left arm as Ford smiles down at him. 

The sight of him being so sweet to his baby brother just fills your heart with affection “Stanford?” 

He lifts his head to look up at you “yeah?” 

“I love you” you say sweetly, planting a brief kiss on his cheek.

A smile forms over his lips, spreading up to his eyes “I love you too” he responds softly, his words warm and genuine. His brows quirk up in the middle “what made you say that?”

Your smile widens “no reason” you say sing-songy, causing his eyes to squint, his nose to crinkle, and his smile to widen even more. 

A small laugh escapes him before he says “okay, well, it’s still pleasant, nonetheless” he says, leaning over and returning the gesture with a kiss on your cheek. 

You look warmly at him for a moment longer before looking at the rest of the guests in the house “so what’s the plan, Sixer?” you ask. 

After sharing each other so intimately, the nickname that only Stanley had called him, became something he was completely okay with you using. If it was something you had sprung on him early on, he wouldn't be comfortable with it, not even a little. He trusted you before but... not as deeply as he does now. 

“Well...we could go greet some guests or my gran...but from what my mom said, my gran sounds busy…” the greeting guests part sounded horrendous, he doesn't even know why he'd suggest that. 

“Well, we could help out?” you suggest, glancing to the direction his mom went off in. 

“We could do that,” he says, lifting his arm slightly so you could hold on inside his elbow, fingers by Shermine’s feet. “At least with you here, my mom won’t try to convince me to talk to people” he says as the two of you make your way over to the kitchen. 

“So, not a lot of family here?” you ask

“Not a lot, most of these people are friends my gran met at the senaguage. My mom is an only child, so it’s not like we have any cousins here or anything” he explains

“What about your dad’s side?” 

“He has...a younger brother and a younger sister, but they live out in… Montana? I’m not sure. He doesn’t talk much about them” he shrugs off “we get letters from them every once in a while though” he adds on, like he was making a defense. His eyes dart to a chair in the corner, seeing his father getting his ear talked off by a guest as he sits silently. A subtle hint of an amusement shows in his eyes before the two of you reach the kitchen. 

“Stanford, Sweetie, do you need anything?” his mom asks as soon as she sees him stop in the kitchen. She’s removing steaming broth along with occasional white balls into porcelain bowls, and behind her you can see an older woman leaning into the oven, pulling out a crisp braided bread loaf.

“We were actually wondering if you were in need of any assistance?” he asks awkwardly. 

The older woman places the loaf down on the counter “well, right now I believe we’re…” she starts, before her words trail off at the sigh of you. You with your hand holding to Stanford’s arm. “You must be the one I’ve heard so much about” she says sweetly, removing mittens as she makes her way over to you. “It’s so nice to meet you, you can call me Rose” she says sweetly.

Instinctively you remove your hold of Stanford, and she takes both of your hands in hers. They feel like a soft leather as they wrinkle and fold over her bones. “I’ve heard you’re making my grandson oh so happy”. From the corner of your eye you can see Ford’s face turn red as he tries to avoid it by looking down at Shermine, but you can hear a small chuckle leave his mom in the kitchen. “And that he’s planning to propose” she adds with a wink. 

A strained sound leaves Ford’s throat, and your face turns bright red. 

“Oh ma, you can’t tell her that,” Mrs. Pines says with a bright laugh. “You’ll ruin the surprise, though…” she pauses, looking at her your flustered faces “I’m sure she already knows” 

You and Ford stand awkwardly in the kitchen as his gran gives your hands one last squeeze before heading back to the kitchen, leaving the two of you stunned.

It’s not like the two of you haven’t talked about it, or lingered on the thought, but the fact that his mother and grandmother both know makes you think he’s currently planning something. 

“Actually-” his gran pipes up “we do need your help with something, Stanford, could you help carry things out to the table? I’d like to have everything set before we light the candles” 

“Yeah” his mom adds, glancing out the window at the setting sun, or what was visible through the dimming grey clouds “and that’ll be soon” 

“Okay” Ford says before turning to you “could you take him?” he asks softly. You extend your arms, and the two of you play the penguin game of transferring the egg to the other, at least that what Ford said this little thing reminded him of. 

As you look down at Shermie’s little body lying in your arms, you notice he has a small little mole on the inside of his tiny index finger as his hand curls around your finger. His tiny nose flails a bit before he starts breathing in a heavy toothless yawn “oh, big yawn you got there buddy” you say quietly as a small laugh comes out with your exhale. He’s so small, yet he looks so much like Stanley and Ford when they were little kids. 

When you look back up, Ford is placing the bread down on the table, going back into the kitchen to help his mom get everything to set the table. Once everything is plated, you can see her ask him something, which is followed by him pulling his cap out from his pocket and turning around. He turns around for his mom to properly place it on his head and he catches you watching and smiles awkwardly at you, but the warm smile on your face causes him to shift into a more loving expression. 

He doesn’t get as awkward as he used to when it’s just the two of you alone, but that didn’t stop him from getting awkward in social situations or around family. It’s cute seeing him embarrassed like that, but it was even better getting him flustered when the two of you were alone. That’s the best...though it’s probably not best to think about that with everyone here. 

“Sweetie?” Mrs.Pines calls out to you, “do you think you could go get my Stanley? I’m not sure where he ran off to, but I know he’s somewhere around here” 

“Uh… sure” you say, as you adjust Shermie into an upright position, his small face resting on your left shoulder as your right hand holds the back of his neck and lower part of his head. “I’ll get him…” you mumble to yourself as you think about the possibility that he and Carla are off doing something. 

You make your way through the house, passing their father, the menorah, the front door, and a few guests, but none of them were Stanley. Suddenly as you make your way past a closed door, you can hear Stanley’s voice muffled. You adjust your hold so that you’re holding Shermie against you with just your left arm as your right arm moves to knock on the door, but pauses just an inch before your knuckles hit the wood. 

“I just don’t get what the problem is” you hear Stanley say along with an exasperated sigh. 

“My problem, is that you’re just so close with her, you tell her everything, you spend the night at her house, and you hug her?” Carla’s voice calls back as a hushed yell. 

“Are you kidding me? We’re friends, just friends, she’s dating Stanford. Tell me you’re not being serious right now” 

“I don’t know, do I sound serious Stanley?” she snaps back. 

He lets out an irritated groan “what do you want me to do then?” 

“I don’t want you two being friends anymore,” she says sternly. 

“You can’t do that” 

“Yes, I can. I’m your girlfriend, and I have a say in who you hang out with, and I say no. She can hang out with her boyfriend, but YOU aren’t her boyfriend, just his brother. You shouldn’t be so sensitive about this”

Then there was silence. Now would be a bad time to knock, wouldn’t it? You must have been standing there for a while, because Stanford had come to look for you. His brows furrow with concern as he looks at you “what happened?” he asks quietly. 

“I can’t…” you say, as you walk up to him “I’ll go meet up with your mom” you say quickly, before walking briskly past him. He watches as you walk away, his whole face contorted with absolute confusion, but he soon turns around and knocks on the door to get his brother.

You hear talking but it’s too far for you to understand, but it’s soon followed by foot steps, so you hurry your way over to their mom. Before you even get to her you feel a hand on your shoulder “Everything seemed fine to me between the two” he says quietly “did something happen?” he asks, his tone full of concern.

“No...it’s just…” your eyes move and meet with Carla’s “can I tell you later?” 

“Of course” he says softly, his hand moves down your shoulder making his way down your arm so he could lace his fingers with yours, giving it a small squeeze, before reaching in and carefully maneuvering Shermie into his arms. 

Once everyone is gathered, their grandmother grabs the middle candle, standing in a spot slightly higher than the others and lights the candle furthest to the left with it. Soon, the room is filled with music, and those around you start to sing. 

~”Ma-oz Tzur Y’shu-a-ti ~ Le-cha Na-eh L’sha-bei-ach”~  
~”Ti-kon Beit T’fi-la-ti ~ V’sham To-da N’za-bei-ach”~  
~”L’eit Ta-chin Mat-bei-ach ~ Mi-tzar Ha-mi-na-bei-ach”~  
~”Az Eg-mor B’shir Miz-mor ~ Cha-nu-kat Ha-miz-bei-ach”~

A part of you wants to at least try to sing along, but your mouth couldn’t keep up. Next to your ear, Stanford quietly sings the words along with the group. You haven’t even thought of it before now...Ford singing… but his words come out so smooth. You make a note to ask him to sing for you later, even if it’s just the two of you...hopefully when it’s just the two of you. 

~~~

When the night ends, you’re extremely grateful that you don’t have to interact too much with their father, though he did make one small comment to his wife that he was surprised you decided to come. She told you this like it was a huge thing for him to say. 

The dinner was amazing, matzo ball soup, latkes, the bread you watched them remove called ‘challah’ may be one of your new favorite things. They even made these jelly filled doughnuts that were incredibly delicious. 

Despite the wonderful meal, and the nice conversations with their mother and grandmother, there was a pit in your mind that worried about Stanley. Granted, there is always a part of you that worries about him… but today, seeing him plaster a smile on his face even after what Carla said… no one even questioned it.

The drive home was silent, except for the radio playing christmas songs, even Blue Christmas by Elvis Presley. Even once Carla was dropped off, the drive remained quiet. You wondered if he was still going to spend the night at your house, but once you got there and he turned off the car, you thought maybe you worried over nothing. 

Once the car stops, you and Ford get out, you unlock the house, and you ask Ford to start the fire. However, Stanley doesn’t follow. 

“Ford… I’ll be right back, okay?” 

“Okay dear…” his eyes move to the still open door “are you sure?” 

All you do is nod before you head back outside, holding your coat tightly closed. You make your way to the diablo, and quickly hop in the front seat with Stanley, and close the door.

He looks at you with his brows scrunched “what are you doing?” he asks, slightly scooching back to rest his back on his door. 

“Can we talk?” 

“What is there to talk about?” he asks, his tone casual, even mimicking confusion...or maybe he genuinely doesn’t see anything bad to talk about. Maybe he’s fine not being friends with you…

“Stanley I….” you thought maybe a small white lie would be okay, but you know he could just as easily dismiss it “I heard you and Carla talking…” 

His eyes widen, before quickly shifting to look out the windshield “what did you hear…?” 

“That she…” you start, before also looking out the windshield “doesn’t want you to be friends with me anymore…” 

“Oh…” he says, before falling silent. 

The silence is only broken by the howling of the cold wind blowing past the car. You sit quietly as the cold air starts to creep into the car and prick at your cheeks. 

You can’t take it anymore “Stanley, do you WANT to be friends with me? I understand I’m too much, or you feel uncomfortable or… I don’t know… but if it is something you want, I’ll understand….”

“It’s not that I don’t want to be friends…” he starts “I just don’t want to lose her again…” he says quietly. Though, this is true, it isn’t the full truth. A part of him, even a small part, wanted you, wished he was the one you chose, and that part of him...hated himself for it. He wants Ford to be happy… he wants you to be happy. Carla says she loves him, he says he loves her, and though that was true… his heart aches to be close to you. Maybe Carla’s right… maybe being close with you isn’t the best idea. 

“But she’s not the boss of you, Stanley.” you say, frustration leaking into your voice. 

He lets out a sigh, then his brown eyes look at you through prescription lenses “I love you, and you’re a great friend, and I’m very happy that you and Sixer are happy together… but I can’t lose her again...she makes me feel like I’m good for something…” he says, looking out the window, seeing more snow fall onto his windshield. His mind buzzed in every direction. That ‘I love you’ is purely platonic, right? He doesn’t want to lose her but… the thought of losing you… he didn’t really know how to deal with it. He doesn’t even know when he started feeling this way, but he wished it’d just stop. 

“Stanley…” you start, but are interrupted.

“Let’s just… go inside…” 

He opens his door, and you soon follow. Once your hand reaches for the doorknob, he taps on your shoulder “are you any good at lying?” 

“I can be…” you say, looking into his eyes “why?” 

“If we could convince her that we aren’t friends anymore… then maybe...things don’t have to change” he says, offering you a small smile, before you open the door and enter into your warming house. After he says that, he silently walks over and lays down on the couch, removing all the extra layers before flopping onto the couch and coving himself in the throw blanket. He can live like this… he can lie to keep you in his life. 

Your eyes scan the room to find that Stanford is not to be found. The only hint is the small sound of clattering in your kitchen, so you go with that. As you walk you remove your extra layers, your scarf, gloves, coat...it’s almost too hot in the house. 

“Stanford? What are you doing?” you ask as you watch him work on something on the stove top. He removed his extra layers and seems to have switched into something more comfortable, a dark navy blue turtleneck sweater. Definitely more comfortable than his button up shirt and tie… however his hair is still styled back. 

“I’m making some hot chocolate” he says sweetly, flicking off the stove before turning to look at you and your cold rosey cheeks “is everything okay?” 

“Yeah? At least I think so…” you say, making your way over to him, your hand moving into his hair to poof it back to normal “ah Sixer, there you are, almost didn’t recognize you”

He lets out a small laugh, his eyes slightly hooded as he looks at you full of affection, his hand coming up and his six fingers brush through your hair “must you always be this endearing?” you lean in, pressing a kiss onto his cheek. 

“Yep” 

His smile widens, before his hand in your hand moves down to your cheek, pulling you into a deep kiss. He separates his lips from yours and whispers “I love you so much” before wrapping his other arm around your waist, pressing you fully against him. Your arms slink around his neck, and one hand slides through his hair. You’re so caught up in the moment that you don’t hear footsteps approaching. 

“Holy shit” 

You and Ford quickly separate and step away from each other, and look at Stanley. The first expression on his face was shocked, almost painful, but it quickly shifted into a mischievous grin and a hardy laugh escaped him. 

“I guess we’re going to have to start calling you Sexer instead of Sixer, huh?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> he's dying, man.


	12. New Years Kiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New year, same plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yep, starting the chapter with hints of sex.

“Holy hell, Stanford…” 

“That was...amazing…” he responds breathlessly, rolling onto his side, removing himself, and pulling your head to his bare chest. “I love you so much….” 

“I love you too…” you say, pulling the blanket up to cover the two of you.

You both lay there for a while longer, catching your breath as you come off from your high. His heart beats hard against your ear as it pounds against his rib cage. “We should start getting dinner ready” you say flatly. 

“But it’s cold, don’t you want to lay together longer?” he asks sweetly, pulling you tighter against him. 

You let out a long sigh, before saying “yeah, okay…” it’s not like you wanted to leave, but there was so much to do during the day, that relaxing this long left wrong. However, with how hard Ford pushes himself to complete all his work and achieve a ridiculous level of academic greatness…. It was nice that he wanted more time to just hold you. 

You lay there for a while longer. You can feel the fingers fingers on his hand as they brush through your hair, gently massaging your scalp with every motion. “Stanford?” 

He hums in response, causing his chest to vibrate from under you. 

“Can you sing something for me?” you ask sweetly. You can hear him swallow as he hesitates, but eventually he asks.

“Like… what?”

“I don’t know...something sweet?” you suggest, he hums again, thinking of something. You’re hoping he’s thinking of a song to sing. 

You’re correct. 

“It’s the latest….it’s the greatest….” he starts, swaying his head from side to side  
“Mashed potato...ya..ya...ya..ya…” 

When you look up at him, he’s already smiling at you, his big brown eyes looking at you

“You’re silly” you say with a small exhaled laugh, you can’t help but smile.

A big toothy smile grows on his face “perhaps” he responds with a heavy laugh “okay okay...I’ll sing ‘the purple people eater’” he forces himself to say amidst his laughter. “~It was a one eyed ~ one horned ~ flying purple people eater-”

“Stoooppp” you interrupt, lifting your head off of him, and flipping the pillow under his head and placing it on his face. 

All it does is muffle his laughter “oh noo….” he says in a joking tone “I’m dead” he adds, before controlling his laughter to lay in silence. “you’ll never get away with this, you have no alibi” he adds, almost factually. 

You lift the pillow off his face, his caramel eyes looking up at you, with a slight squint “ are you here to save me? I didn’t see who it was but someone, I’m not sure, but I’m going to guess...incredibly beautiful, tried to kill me.” 

You smile, and reach over to the side table to grab his glasses, and place them on his face “more beautiful than me?” you ask, jokingly, leaning down to his face. 

He reaches up, taking your face between his hands “I think…” he starts, before gently rubbing his thumb on your cheek “I think you’re more beautiful than anyone on this planet” he says sweetly, before his eyes glance away for a moment “well...any planet, you’re more beautiful than anyone anywhere, ever” he corrects, before pulling you down gently, pressing his lips softly to yours, causing you both to sigh into the kiss. 

When you pull away, you place your head back on his chest “now sing for me, Sixer.” you jokingly demand. 

“Okay okay” he says, reaching for the blanket, snuggly covering your bare bodies, he hums briefly before starting a song 

“I never thought that you would be~ standing here so close to me ~ there’s so much I feel that I should say~ but words can wait until some other day” 

he sings quietly, his low voice flowing smoothly in the air around you. Your chest feels warm and full of affection, this is a really sweet song.

“Kiss me once ~ then kiss me twice ~ then kiss me once again ~ it’s been a long ~ long time ~ haven’t felt like this, my dear ~ since can’t remember when ~ it’s been a long, long time ~” he leans his head down, planting a soft kiss on the top of your head “You’ll never know how many dreams I’ve dreamed about you ~ or just how lonely they all seem without you ~ sooooo kiss me once ~ kiss me twice ~ then kiss me once again ~ it’s been a looonnnng long time ~” he finishes up the song by rolling on top of you and pressing a long kiss on your lips. Once he pulls away, he looks down at you with a broad smile “how was that?” 

“Nice, thank you”

~~~~

The two of you soon decided to get out of bed and shower together. Both of you wore thick knitted wool sweaters. Yours was a dark navy, while Ford wore a dark red, maroon, turtleneck sweater that you had made for him. It suits him. 

Neither of you bothered putting shoes, instead you settled for several layers of socks. It was hard to find a good balance with the heater and the fire to keep the house toasty, but still be able to breathe the air without drying out your throat. 

Your plans for the night weren’t really big or exciting, but spending new years alone together sounded nice. Most of the day, the two of you worked on your science project prototypes. The project was in February, but it doesn’t hurt being prepared. He let you test out your project on him, it is the study if there are certain chords in music that can cause an emotional response, or even affect heart rate. You have the negative emotions down, there are some minor chords that you tested out that made him upset, however, figuring out the positive emotions has been a tricky process. 

As for his project, he was very enthusiastic about it. “A perpetual motion machine” - something he believes can really better the future, and with how much work and effort he’s putting into this, it’s hard to doubt that he won’t change the future. You’re sure of it. One day his brilliant mind will really make a difference. 

“Ford, do you mind if I put some records on since we’re almost done with cooking?” you call out across the house as you flip through your vinyl collection. 

“Of course, my dear” he calls back. 

You decide on Harry James, keeping it at a soft volume, just loud enough to hear it, but just quiet enough that there wouldn’t be too much noise in the house. 

When you come back to the kitchen you walk up behind him and slink your arms around him “how’s it going?” 

He lets out a small laugh, before turning off the sink to dry his hands “well, while you were out of the kitchen, I placed the beef wellington and the scalloped potatoes in the oven”, you release your arms from him so that he could turn around. His eyes are sweet and he offers you an apologetic smile “I hope you don’t mind” 

“No, it’s okay, you weren’t obligated to wait for me” you say, “don’t worry about it, Stanford” you add, before pecking his freshly shaven cheek with a kiss. His hand comes up to his cheek and he smiles warmly at you. 

You aren’t sure what it is, but there was this light that went off in his head and his expression dropped as he was caught up in the thought. 

“Stanford…?” you ask quietly, snapping him out of his thoughts. 

“Yes, sorry” he responds back with a broad smile “I was just thinking…” his hand shifts, trying to nonchalantly pat his pocket, before trying to play it off my reaching his hand to hold you hip “it’s nothing to cause concern” 

“Right…?” you say, raising a brow. Suspicious. Though, you don’t doubt him, doesn’t seem to be something to be concerned about at all. 

~~~

Soon after dinner, you moved to the couch to watch ‘it’s a wonderful life’, followed by the two of you sitting at the table playing dominoes. 

Throughout the evening, he seemed to have gotten more nervous, and kept patting his pocket, while trying to act like he wasn’t. Despite the last round being his turn, he had been staring at his dominoes for 5 minutes before you two ended the game. 

Soon enough, it was almost time, they were counting down to the new year. 

Once the clock struck midnight, he held you tightly, and pressed his lips onto yours. So full of passion, tenderness, and a kind of desperateness like this was your last kiss ever. 

You can hear fireworks and people cheering outside, but all you see is Stanford’s blushy face as he looks at you. He takes a step away, holding both of your hands in his own.

“Darling there’s…. Something I want to say…” he says slightly stumbling over his words.

“Yes?” 

“I love you so much…when we first met… I was covered in blood and...probably not the best person to look at, and you… you made me feel… happy to be me… despite my abnormality… and you’re so bright and brilliant, and so kind and beautiful… and I know there are days where you feel less than that… but you’re never less than that… you’re perfect….fantastic…and I’d do anything for you” he looks at you with warm brown eyes, and your heart feels full of butterflies and affection. You suspected, but it doesn’t change how exceedingly happy and overwhelmed with joy you feel right now. He looks to the side and lets out a small laugh “I even spent an hour on the telephone with your parents…just so that I can ask you if you would do me the honor of -” 

He’s cut off. 

There’s a heavy pounding on your front door. 

You look at him, your eyes begging for him to continue, that maybe it’s just fireworks and it’s not your door. 

“T-the honor of-” he attempts to continue but he’s cut off again, by the now undoubtable sound of someone pounding on your front door. 

The two of you share a pained expression, squeezing the other’s hand before letting go to investigate.

You walk together to the front door, but you still stand behind Ford as he opens the door, just in case. 

“Stanley?” 

You peek over Ford’s shoulder to see Stanley, his eyes were red and puffy, like he had been crying for too long. He seems to be only wearing a thin button up shirt and pants, and considering the icy weather outside, he is completely unprepared. 

“Heeeyy….” he starts off, trying to act casual “hope I’m not interrupting anything” 

“What happened?” Ford asks, concern in his voice as he steps back and you both welcome Stanley into your house, into the living room. Your hand briefly touches Stanley’s only to feel that his fingers are practically frozen. 

“Nothing really, allergies, and whatnot” he says, trying to joke it off. 

“Stanley…” you say quietly, knowing he’s lying. 

His eyes dart between the two of you, before letting out a heavy sigh “we just...had a little argument… it’s okay…” 

Stanford’s hand lands on his brother’s shoulder, before quickly recoiling “you’re freezing Stanley… I’ll heat some tea up for you” Ford says, before getting up off the couch and heading off to the kitchen. Leaving you and his twin alone. 

“What was the argument about…” you press.

“Something stupid…” he says, looking over to the kitchen, without looking at you he continues “Carla and I haven’t really… y’know… done it… in a while… I mean, I’m sure you and Sixer have already-” he cuts himself off. “Sorry, that’s rude…” 

“I’m not upset” you say, just trying to get him to continue. 

“So you have? No- nevermind, that’s not my business…” and knowing if you have, would really not help his mood right now, despite encouraging Ford to get protection. He felt his brother gets all the luck, a happy healthy relationship, good grades… respect from relatives. Regardless, he wouldn’t deserve you, even if you weren’t with Ford...or if he wasn’t with Carla. 

“Well… anyways… we haven’t… in a long time… like y’know how we took a break? Well even before, we hadn’t done it in a month or so...then we were broken up for like...a month? Then now… well..you get the picture… she tried to tonight...but it turns out… that uh...the condoms that I had in my wallet from before we broke up had some holes in them and that she actually tired messing them up so that we’d get pregnant…” 

“Stan…” 

“So… of course I was upset...because she lied and went behind my back, but she got mad at me that I don’t want to have a kid with her just yet, but that's only cause….” 

well, because he was unhappy with her, and he was in love with you.  
“And then she...well… she wasn’t happy about that…” 

“That’s not right… and it’s not stupid for you to have gotten in a fight over that...it makes sense...but it doesn’t make sense that she’d…” he hesitate, lifting a hand up, placing it on his icy cheek, and he closes his eyes and leans into your hand. Which… is a little odd. 

There is a small sound that causes his eyes to spring open and to sit up straight, and away from your hand. You notice it’s just Ford on his way back, his eyes focusing on the tea, trying not to spill it since he filled it too high. 

“Here… this should warm you up” he says, handing it to his brother, who takes it graciously 

“thanks, Sixer…” he takes a sip before looking back up at the two of you “I’m really sorry for...interrupting your night” 

“Don’t worry about it, Stanley” you say, offering him a smile. You know there was more to talk about, but you know he isn’t going to say more right now. “If you want you can sleep here tonight? The room you used before is still empty” 

“Well thanks” 

“No problem”

~~~ 

It didn’t take much longer for the three of you to head off to bed, Stanley to his own bed, and you and Stanford off to bed together. 

Once you’re in bed, you curl up to Stanford, your head on the pillow next to his, he turns and faces you “Darling…” 

“Yes?” 

“Will you do me the honor...of making me the happiest man in existence… and become my wife?” he says softly, pulling a small ring from the front pocket of his flannel pajama top. 

You let out a small giggle “I thought you’d never ask” you joke. 

He smiles at you, his eyes beaming through his prescription lenses. 

“Yes, of course” you say joyously, causing his smile to widen. He slides the ring carefully down your finger, and once it’s on, he pulls you in, wrapping his arms around you, squeezing you tightly. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy before, I love you so much”

And yet, despite your concern for Stanley, those concerns became nothing more than a small cloud in your mind of sunshine and blue skies. A bright smile shines across your face

“And I love you too”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're having a wonderful day! <3 (or hope you had a wonderful day)


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